Anna says “Niiice”

George says “Can I come by for a cup ;)”

Jenny and 4 others like it.

Usual reactions to a status entry on Facebook. You say what you are doing, what you are thinking etc. and other people tell you what they think about it. It can be a short thought, like Anna´s or it can even be a shorter thought like Jenny´s and the other´s. They just decided to press the “like” button. It is enough. It expresses what they think. No need for words.

Now, George is a different case. He obviously likes it, as well. That is why he wants to join for a cup of coffee. This would mean that George and me are friends. He could, of course, call me but we already found out, that Facebook is somewhat more attractive than a phone. So what George does, is assuming that I will check my status entry and the comments about it and that I will answer him. I am certainly busy with writing my blog, so I might not have time for George. Now, will I tell him that or will I just not tell anything? Why did I tell everyone in the first place what I am doing? And why the hell did George put a smiley behind his comment? Is that supposed to be kinky or does that mean that he is not serious and does not want to come by but just said it for the sake of saying something?

“Everything we do online aims at being paid in the greatest currency of our time: attention.” Everybody wants and needs attention. And in our times of online communication this might be the way to get it. It seems like a normal part of our life to share our thoughts or actions with a large community and to expect some kind of approval, whether it is a statement like “nice” or one like “jenny and 4 others like it”.

It might not even occur to us, that it is attention we are seeking for when we write a status entry. However, with some people it is obvious. Writing a status entry like “uuuaaaaah aaaaahhhhhhrg!!!!!” implies wanting others to ask “what´s wrong?”. And others do. So they get an explanation. The remaining question here is: why not tell straight away what is wrong? The answer is the same: attention. You do not just want to tell people what bothers you. You want them to care what does. And if you are sitting in front of a screen and people cannot see that you are sad/angry/upset than the only possibility of showing them is an entry like “uaaaaaah!”.

Status entries are short, quick and understandable. However, sometimes not for all your Facebook friends. When a large amount of people is writing a paper, which is supposed to be 2500 words long, then an entry like “600/2500” expresses enough. It is a communication between a certain group of people, namely those in the same writing situation. People who don´t understand it, still have the option of pressing the like button, if they really feel like contributing to the conversation.

Whatever it is we expect from our status entries, it became a part of our lives and it is our way of getting attention, may it be consciously or unconsciously.

So, what are you doing now?

References: Fritzsche, L. ( April 2010). "Über-Ich". Neon.