I found a row of empty seats at the back of the bus. I always assumed people did not sit at the back because it would be troublesome for them to alight especially when the bus was crowded. Or maybe, it was because people did not want to associate themselves with the youths sitting at the back. I have observed that during off-peak hours, the back few rows would be occupied by teens, dressed flamboyantly or dolled up excessively. Perhaps others perceive them to be punks or rebels based on their appearance and refuse to go close to them. I admit, I am also just one of the Singapore majority who felt this way, but under the circumstances(I was carrying my heavy judo gi), I did not really have much of a choice. I did not regret my decision.
There were two teens sitting next to me. Judging by their tanned and muscular figure, I presumed that they were perhaps new NS enlistees or at the very least, JC 2 graduates. Putting that aside, I fished for my Nintendo DS Lite and flicked on the switch. After another exhausting day in the dojo, I was intent on having a bit of fun before I reached home, where all my work were waiting for my return.
I was halfway through a challenging puzzle(I never finished it) when I heard one of the two teens utter "Facebook" and "kids shouldn't be allowed access to it". I was lucky to have resisted the impulse of looking at the pair. I calmed myself down and settled back down, this time listening attentively to catch the remaining of their conversation.
Here's what I heard(Not all of it is exact):
"... Facebook."
"Oh that, I think kids shouldn't be allowed access to it. They post things like 'stupid'and insult others. Childish."
"Yeah, but..."
"I mean, I was from ACS. I have a friend who is a trainee teacher at... I think it was Nanhua. She corresponds with some of her students through facebook, to hold discussions and stuff. I have seen the way her students reply to her, it was...okay, she is quite a shy person...but the way they replied to her were... their replies could be improved, like to show a little bit more respect."
"I think this is just..."
I wish I could have heard the remaining conversation between them but I had to alight. However, I think these two teens had expressed a million words with just this short exchange.
There have been a lot of talk over Facebook these days, especially with the recent sacking of a principal in the Europe due to one of her students flaming her on Facebook. Being a Facebook user myself, I cannot say that it is completely useless and harmful but I can say that it comes with its own set of rules and penalties, as with all other social networking sites. The development of Facebook helps encourage many positive aspects of social interaction with friends from all walks of life, relatives living abroad and even teachers working through the night to answer the numerous queries we all have. This was what Facebook was created for in the Facebook, right? However, everything has its limits and its disadvantages. For example, the ability to post any comment, make any remark or accept any friend request with the simple click of the mouse makes Facebook users prone to rash behaviour. Do we think, before we angrily post an enraged lament online? Do we think, before we comment stupidly on our friend's post? Do we think, who are we actually hooking up with? The disadvantage of Facebook is that it merely a platform of trust between users. No one really knows who is behind that familiar name or that believable profile picture. Going one step further, we are prone to expressing our thoughts and feelings without any hesitation or doubt because we think we are being surrounded by our friends. This may sound paranoid but, who are our REAL friends? Can we really trust those people whom we accept friend requests from?
I think it all boils down to respect and safety. Whatever we do, whatever we say, we must respect those who would see or hear about it. This way, we would not offend anyone mistakingly or send friend requests to people we do not know. We are one community. We should respect those around us and not pry into their life if they do not want us to or insult them. If there is a feud between us, we should settle it face to face, and not let our argument transverse into cyberspace. Also, we must be careful when treading though the vast oceans of the social network. Due to the internet's secretive nature, we never know who we really are conversing or hooking up with. Hence, it is important that we have a strong sense of cyber-awareness which encompasses taking care of our personal information. We must see through a disguised friend and we must not trust a cyber fiend.
A safe network...what a Utopian dream...
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