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Jakarta Post

The five-minute status updates phenomenon

Following my latest article about how technology is invading traditional forms of communication, this week I can't help but notice how many people on Facebook change their status every five minutes

(The Jakarta Post)
Sun, June 7, 2009

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The five-minute status updates phenomenon

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ollowing my latest article about how technology is invading traditional forms of communication, this week I can't help but notice how many people on Facebook change their status every five minutes. Is Facebook a new medium for eager hopefuls to attain fame with one click of the finger, or is it simply just an engine for egocentric urbanites? It's getting more complicated than the Da Vinci code to crack the five-minute-changing-status signs, are they a measure of creativity or just a sign of not having a life?

Nando Fernando, well let's just call him that, is a respected 35-year-old marketing manager for a cosmetics company and a true Facebook addict. Today he wrote:

8:04 a.m. Nando Fernando is thanking God for a new day despite a never-ending sore throat is gonna think positive and move on with daily activities. Have an important meeting this afternoon with a client. (Two people like this - Amen!)

8:28 a.m. Nando Fernando is having a breakfast of Indomie goreng and eggs with hot tea, at the same time doing market research, swallowing three pills of Gingko Biloba with Brahmi, Rp 2,500 from Kordel's, to wake brain cells up. (Five comments - but who cares?)

9:15 a.m. Nando Fernando is in the office, still has a sore throat. (Sore throat definitely needs an affirmation, yeah right!)

10:05 a.m. Nando Fernando is having a break and uploading photos from last weekend, hundreds of images, taking so long to upload, damn Internet connection. Feel like sleeping now, but still so much work to do. I miss my bed. zzzzZZZzzzzz... Ggggrrrhrookkkk... etc...

11:59 a.m. Nando Fernando is going out for lunch.

12:33 p.m. Nando Fernando is having spicy ikan tude at Beautika, yummy yumm. anybody want some? (Three people like this)

1:41 p.m. Nando Fernando is going to a meeting, traffic is so bad, luckily the lunch was excellent, nice fish and corn cakes, but so annoying one fish bone is still stuck in my teeth, maybe it's time for the dentist? (One comment)

4:12 p.m. Nando Fernando is going back to the office, considering going to the gym after work to keep fit and healthy. Wanna join RPM or Body Pump or Power Jump or Yoga class? On the way there, will call EFS (English for Success) to maintain and practice my English. I am thinking of continuing my French course at CCF or my Japanese, but do I have enough time...??? Why does time goes by so fast....??? (Zero comments, so Nando decided to give a "likes this" sign for his own unnecessary status - I mean, what the F!)

5:28 p.m. Nando Fernando is going to gym at EX.

7:04 p.m. Nando Fernando is done with exercise and wants to buy Bread Talk (Like I care?)

And the list continues on until past midnight, Nando keeps on bla-bla-ing despite the fact that no one gives a damn. Still, before he ends his day, he leaves three unimportant updates:

11:59 p.m. Nando Fernando is yawning. so sleepy.

12:05 a.m. Nando Fernando is going to bed.

12:08 a.m. Nando Fernando is good night everyone!

And there's Resty, a self acclaimed art director who has similar patterns to Nando, blabbering on about her craving for seafood, changing her status four times between arriving at a restaurant at 6:04 p.m and leaving at 7:08 .m.

Resty also posted some photos of her meal using a mobile upload. I wonder if she even managed to eat she being so preoccupied with updating her Facebook.

This week's article has been silly but fun to write, all I have done is just print what these Facebook junkies wrote on their status, and have given you the guilty pleasure of reading them. I'm sure your eyebrows rose when you read their rubbish. Yet prurient voyeurism and dumb status updates keep us hooked, and so, day by day, we log on, hungry for more low-grade banter and drunken photo antics.

Facebook defines itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". But how do you define friends - those people around you? Connectivity is undeniably a good thing, but Facebook addiction can indirectly annoy the living hell out of everyone. Pointless status updates and staged photo albums are just the beginning. Changing your profile picture every five minutes does not change people's perception that in real life you are irritating and have an illusive personality.

And if Nando and Resty can have around 3,000 friends on their Facebook, does the word "friend" still mean someone they actually know?

Some people really try to show-off with their status updates, trying to look like they're super cool or have the best social lives, but most of them are really making up for what they don't have. So, to avoid the irritation, I think I'll remove Nando, Resty and the rest of these mind-numbing status update freaks from my friends list. I'm sure they won't mind, they will still have 2,999 spare friends to entertain. I'm sorry guys, it's a tough life.

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