The Social Network: Social Restraints of Mark Zuckerberg

The Social Network

In the Social Network, we explore the social restraints of the men who created the endless social possibilities of Facebook. Although the movies has fictionalized aspects, it produces an interconnection betweens human’s social abilities on and offline. Furthermore, they examines the reason why social media became rapidly so popular and how some of come to treat as an addiction, to the point where we see it as need versus a want. The Social Network follows the college life of young Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook and present a clear picture of what started his idea.

Zuckerberg’s antisocial charisma indicates a need to have friends but lacking the knowledge and/or personality to keep and obtain friends. In the first scene, Zuckerberg conveys complete apathy, or lack of emotional, connections with a female he considers to be his girlfriend. While she is trying to have a calm, rational conversation with him, he seems to take her comments as hostile attempts of attack and immediately in return, he volleys insults and degrading assertions. Afterwards, the woman tells him that she has no intentions of ever seeing him again due to his lack of being able to have a civilized, neutral conversation at all. Zuckerberg, without second thought, seeks vengeance as soon as possible and aims to ruin her image, not physically but digitally. Without remorse, he slanders her name behind a computer, saying hateful, crude thoughts online, so it may be available for the world to see. He enjoyed the idea that other people could read his clever, witty, “well-thought” out judgement on this girl.

The notion of being able to talk about anything you wish and having the entire internet web being able to access your mind, without having the social awkwardness of saying it in person. Isn’t this the very premise of what social media is? Social media is a platform for any individual to essentially pick up the mic, and say whatever we desire to whoever would listen. No matter where on the globe or how socially awkward you may be, you can have your theories and opinions, viewed by thousands, maybe even millions. This generations has now rewired their brain to generate a gratifying feeling whenever some reads their posts and “likes” it. The same endorphin hormones that fill our brain when we receive a compliment, accomplish a goal, or even have sex is the same filling we receive for only saying something we did. In essence, we are rewarding ourselves for boasting about ourselves. In our daily offline lives, we tend not to be so self-absorbed when talking to other people.

This helps us to get to know one another and socialize but while online, people chose to brag and boast about themselves and post about who we are and we do. There are more “I” statements when we are online versus when we are offline. This teaches our brain to associate having a self absorbed narcissistic attitude as something people enjoy. That is the complete opposite of being a social creature. This mindset can really affect our ability of empathy and compassion for others. Soon we will all lose the one emotions that connects us as human beings. Furthermore, we lack the ability to communicate any feelings or emotions, through verbal communications on spot, instead we put online in the form of likes and dislikes. We don’t have to form an opinion we can just click a button and retweet or like/like some thing else. In the midst of social media, it seems as if we are not socializing at all, but rather becoming quite the opposite of what the name intels.