BALANCE BETWEEN REAL LIFE AND SOCIAL NETWORK

As a student of engineering, most of time we are facing the computer, working, studying, or entertaining. Social network thus playing an important part in our daily life because we have more chance to check it. When life in social network becomes part of(or a large part of) our daily life, I begin to consider whether social network is a source of distance from real life.

Firstly, please admit me to divide social network into two types in my opinion.

For type one I'll say it's such social network as presenting one's real information and close combined to daily life. One example is Facebook, or renren in mainland China. Users' information on such webs is supposed to be true, like a true name and a true image. And the content on it is also based on reality, about one's work, one's study, and one's life. So reading such content can be somehow like reading one's life. It can be a good way to get closer to life, especially for those who have little time and chance to go out to see many friends face to face, just like us, most time of whose is limited in the library, the lab, the classroom or anywhere in front of the computer.

For type two here can be such social network as creating an ID and acting as a role inside it. Here the example can be twitter, or weibo in mainland China. Users' information on such webs can be totally product of imagination. Certainly, there can be some users willing to show a real life in such webs but it's not necessary, or not most users supposed to do. I'll admit that activity on such webs can be more free, with less responsibility. You can only focus on things you like, no considering anything else. You can forget any task in life here, because now you are just your ID. Maybe one will find it brings more happiness because everything here is pleasant(because they are all your choices), and will find friends more easily here(because people here tend to only show what they are fond of, and you'll find those who have the same tastes with you, ignoring other differences between you). But I think it really a source of distance from real life. For content on it is only what you tend to accept, it can be a way of escape. You live somehow in your imagination here. And considering friends made on such social network, in fact you know only a little point of them, your topics are also limited in such little point, let alone maybe you even haven't access to each other's real information. So when you live in real life, friends you need are also friends in real life. When you like life on such social network more, and when you have more friends here than in real life, distance from real life becoms larger.

So that's my point ~~~

NEW WAY OF COMMUNICATION

My first entry to social network was somehow kind of compromise. I had to get familiar with this new platform because most of my schoolmates tend to put important notice on it. At that time, I didn't recognise that it would lead to a new way of communication.

Social network has helped me a lot in making friends with new schoolmates since I'm shy to start the first word with someone face to face. I can be free to have a talk only when I'm certain that we are familiar enough with each other. But you see, without the courage to start the first word, nothing will happen next. However, leaving a word on someone's page seems to be more easy for me. By this way, I can get familiar(maybe only psychologically, but that's OK) with many new friends before we finally met, and can be more free to have a talk face to face.

After that first word, friends become friends and then, we come to each other's life through social network. Here social network gives us more opportunity to communicate, no longer limited by time and places. It's really a good chance to keep friends in good touch. In addition, for social network's non-time-limiting, I prefer to leave a message on one's page to sending a short message by cell-phone or making a phone call. Because I can't make sure the one I'm calling is free to answer my message or can make a reply to my message within a short time. And we know, for most of us, checking social network is somehow a sign of being free. Of course, that kind of message is certainly not urgent.

On this platform, I can get information about what my friends are concentrated with, not so intendedly and more freely. Most probably, such information can open a new window for my life. That can be linked with a topic mentioned on 18th, Sep's class. Concerning user-based filtering and item-based filtering, I'll prefer the first one since we need to discover new items that are likely to interest us, not repeat some topics again and again. And friends' interests are most likely to have the potential to be ours.

I think I have got  accustomed to this new way of communication and found it really brings convenient to my life.