Did you hear the Facebook news? After days of hyping up the new feature to be unveiled today, Facebook revealed their big announcement.Facebook has become a sign of our times, since for many, their social media persona seems to be just as vital as their real persona. Although the social media site has gained worldwide popularity, it hasn’t always attracted positive attention. Most recently, the age requirement has been the subject of scrutiny since the company really can’t monitor how old its users are; by kids simply checking off that they are 13 years or older, they gain full access.
So the new Facebook feature may have some parents worried.
As announced today, the new features include a redesigned chat interface, group chats, and Skype-video chat integration. The group chat lets multiple people chat at the same time. It will also send a summary of the chat to any users who were invited to the chat but couldn’t make it. But it’s the video chat is probably the most problematic because by clicking on a call button, users can start a video chat. As many have speculated, the deal between Facebook and Skype may be a reaction by Facebook to quickly add the features it’s currently missing when it is compared to Google+.
Of course, there are several other ways for kids and adults video chat online already, but Facebook is such an integrated part of daily life for so many and Mark Zuckerberg said what makes the chat stand out is the ease of use of Facebook’s video chat. In today’s annoucment, a Facebook engineer showed that the browser-based function only takes two clicks to fully activate, and about 30 seconds for the whole program to boot. To accept a request for video chat, users just have to click a button on a Facebook popup window. Zuckerberg also emphasized that there is no installation or no new registration; it’s a feature that just seamlessly integrates into the existing Facebook experience.
In a time when sexting has become almost a prerequisite in teen dating, this easily available video integration is only going to cause more problems. I am on the fence about it honestly because while I love new technology and I think it’s amazing how far we have come since I was a teenager, the way people use, or more specifically abuse, technology is what concerns me.
Preteens and teens go on Facebook everyday and chat through text now daily, recapping their day, making plans, or just killing time. The video chats will no doubt be widely popular among teens, which means all these kids on video chat in their rooms, often late at night. It’s a recipe for disaster.
And it’s not only the kids who will utilize this function. Just consider how many affairs are said to have been started or rekindled on Facebook. Now think of the possible ramifications of late night video chatting. The temptation of having the call button dangling right over the chat box will be difficult for many immature teens to pass up on, not to mention bored married folk looking to spice up their lives.
I don’t think it’s a bad feature in and of itself, because technologically, it’s wonderful for people to be able to video chat with their family and friends who are far away, show off their new babies, and not feel so out of touch. It is probably a great idea for the many single moms and dads trying to get back into the dating world, and a low stress way to “meet” and sum up each other without even having to get a babysitter. It’s a phenomenal thing to be able to sign onto Facebook and chat with people in different countries , some of which have been your “friends” but you’ve never even met, yet social networking has also opened a big can of worms, morally speaking. Just look at Anthony Weiner and his Twitter scandal.
I just see this feature ushering in a whole new climate of negative behavior among the emotionally immature … and unfortunately that includes just as many teens as it does adults.
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