Comment: Insatiable needs

hyped. So is the movie The Social Network come to Norwegian cinemas. Again comes the writings about the phenomenon of Facebook. The media is filled with issues about the social experiment we are all developing. Our appetite for Facebook stuff is apparently insatiable.

The Social Network deserves full coverage. The film lives up to the hype. But all the issues about the phenomenon itself, privacy or the enormous flow of information no longer seem to be important news. For me, on the other hand, a new Facebook problem has emerged recently – an issue that deserves column space.

Attach Profile

I created my Facebook profile in the network spede, Norwegian beginnings, in May / April 2007. Facebook was then a fairly unknown site. For me, it became a place where I received invitations to fun parties, and inexplicably got in touch with forgotten acquaintances.

But then something happened: colleagues showed up. So employers, family and journalistic sources. And I, who saw Facebook as tantamount to party booking, had to take a stand on how to act virtually. Several times I have reassessed the attachment profile, but each time concluded to retain my first Facebook intention. I have never managed to make my profile work related, correct or political. For me, Facebook becomes a place I talk to friends, look at holiday photos and receive party invitations.

But lately my facebook world has changed again. And for the first time, I moderated my parenting profile. Every time I log in, it flashes in the chat.

"Hi! How are you? Are You There? »

And this is not an old, worn-out classmate. It is not from a brief acquaintance from the "South" in 1997. There are messages from the Gambia.

Not that it is shocking in itself. My father is Gambian. But the messages come from people who are materially disadvantaged, who I know have no water and electricity. It feels strange.

Facebook without PC

In Western media we discuss the new age and its material abundance. "Everyone" has a laptop, "everyone" is online all the time. The pictures of mother and father sitting in their respective corners and chatting have become recurring.

But this is not true for my African friends. The boys who chat with me dare not dream of their own laptop. A new laptop costs annual salaries, an old one costs a bottle. And if some of them get hold of an old PC, how will it be used, when very few people in the district have electricity?

Still, the boys are on Facebook. Because there's one thing they have: cell phones. And this year, one of Gambia's telecommunications companies opened up access to the Internet via mobile phone.

I was in Gambia at Easter and then Facebook was the new big. While the sun was shining and the tourists were lying on the beach, the boys at our hotel sat on the bench in front of old screens and Facebook. Facebook was entertainment. But the big goal was to keep in touch with European girls, girls they hoped could help them to a better everyday life. Be it with monetary gifts, or greatest of all: an opportunity to get to the West.

It is well known that many Gambian boys dream of everyday life in Europe. The Gambia is one of Africa's poorest countries. The country is gradually known for older women going down for sex tourism. For many boys, these women have represented the only way out of poverty. But finding the right lady is not always easy. Now many have seen a new opportunity through Facebook.

The boys who chat with me, on the other hand, are friends, and they are not directly on the checker. They just want to keep in touch and ask how I am. In addition, they tell me how lucky I am to live in Europe. They say that they have looked at my pictures, and they think it looks like I'm having so much fun.

Again I sit, with a bitter taste in my mouth. My facebook activity is lit by material abundance, while theirs testifies to the opposite. And for the first time in my facebook life, I think before I write about funny things I experience. For the first time I have been on a trip abroad and decided not to post pictures. It feels wrong to brag about my expensive habits.

Bad conscience does not help

I think everyone who grew up in the West with family in "developing countries" has reflected on their, materially speaking, superior lives. But as my wise little sister in South Africa says: “You have to relinquish the guilt. It does not help anyone if you have a bad conscience. Have a good time, but use your profits to help. "

This advice has helped me. In Africa, I can provide material support, my friends contribute music, laughter and song. And we can all have rewarding times together.

But Facebook… Well, Facebook is messing it up!

Our difference in living standards becomes so visible. The problems come so close. My African friends are not tagged in pictures, because nobody has a digital camera. I get tagged all the time. And they comment on it. Always.

I have a feeling I should do something. It feels extra wrong that Africans who have been robbed of their resources by Europeans, in addition, have such easy access to see that we gasp in abundance. It is as if we are sitting at the same table via Facebook, at each end. They see us eating our fill, while we see them eating the leftovers after our meal.

What can I do? "Abducted" or "unfriendly" to avoid the problem? Remove the "problem friends" from the "news feed" so I can feel better? Should I send more money to Gambia? But the need for money in The Gambia, like our Norwegian interest in Facebook, is insatiable. And on Facebook, our various, insatiable needs become frighteningly clear.

Share via Facebook

At the same time, it may also be where the strength lies. Social networks connect the world. If something catastrophic happens somewhere in the world, online support groups are set up. Maybe you discover having mutual friends with someone affected.

Journalist Joe Ekker wrote two weeks ago an excellent column in Ny Tid called «U-help / schmu-help». Ekker encourages people to stop giving money, but rather travel to developing countries and share resources. Maybe Facebook is a platform where we can start sharing?

I try to alleviate the bad feeling in my stomach and rather contribute with good advice when I chat with Gambian friends. Even my financial education cousin, who works for a bank (a very good job in The Gambia), facebook chats about European dreams. He wants to make more money, help the family and the country. And he sees a job in Europe as the only solution. Before, I did not know what to answer. Now I try to encourage creative innovation. “How about giving financial advice over the internet? How about doing something for your country from where you are now? ”

For the boys from the hotel, the tourist season is over. With daytime free, they are constantly on mobile and Facebook. Now that they are fussing about Europe, I encourage them to think in other directions. What will happen to Gambia if everyone leaves?

We have already seen that Facebook can mobilize for charity. But maybe Facebook can become a forum where we can share constructive thoughts? Maybe we can get to know new people, exchange experiences and even out some differences?

I do not know. But as the movie about Facebook points out: We do not yet understand all the possibilities of Facebook. And we can all influence the outcome.

Also read about: Our global Facebook village.