Facebook and Philosophy What's on Your Mind?

by Wittkower, D. E.

• ISBN13: 9780812696752
• ISBN10: 0812696751
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-01
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

Facebook and Philosophy is an entertaining, multi-faceted exploration of what Facebook means for us and for our relationships. With discussions ranging from the nature of friendship and its relationship to "friending," to the (debatable) efficacy of "online activism," this book is the most extensive and systematic attempt to understand Facebook yet. And with plenty of new perspectives on Twitter and Web 2.0 along the way, this fun, thought-provoking book is a serious and significant contribution for anyone working with social media, whether in academia, journalism, public relations, activism, or business. Exploring far-reaching questions — Can our interactions on Facebook help us care about each other more? Does Facebook signal the death of privacy, or (perhaps worse yet) the death of our desire for privacy? — Facebook and Philosophy is vital reading for anyone involved in social networks today.

Author Biography

D. E. Wittkower is the editor of iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008) and Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The Curious Case of the Defective Detective (2010). He fully acknowledges he has had serious issues with FarmVille, Bejeweled Blitz, Word Challenge, Pet Society, Treasure Madness, and PackRat, but wishes to make it absolutely clear that he has now been clean for several weeks. He teaches philosophy at Coastal Carolina University.

Table of Contents

Profile Pages	p. xi
A Reply to facebook Critics	p. xxi
Who Uses facebook and Why?	p. xxxi
facebook Itself	p. 1
The Privacy Virus	p. 3
It's Like Talking to a Wall	p. 13
Ian became a fan of Marshall McLuhan on facebook and suggested you become a fan too	p. 21
With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?	p. 33
The Profile and the Self	p. 49
Profile Picture, Right Here, Right Now	p. 51
You Can't Front on facebook	p. 65
Why I Am Not a Friend	p. 75
Playing Around with Identity	p. 89
Spectacle 2.0?	p. 97
facebook Friends	p. 109
Why Can't We Be Virtual Friends?	p. 111
The Friendship that Makes No Demands	p. 123
Care Ethics, Friendship, and facebook	p. 135
What Are Friends For?	p. 147
Social Networking	p. 159
Dear facebook	p. 161
Gossip and the Evolution of facebook	p. 173
facebook as an Excess of Seeing	p. 181
Do Status Updates Have Any Value?	p. 191
Gatekeeper, Moderator, Synthesizer	p. 201
Activity and Passivity	p. 213
facebook, Surveillance, and Power	p. 215
Wall to Wall or Face to Face	p. 231
facebook as Playground and Factory	p. 241
The Proles and Cons of facebook	p. 253
Faking It on facebook	p. 265
Keyword Search	p. 277
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