Scott Brown's Facebook Friendonomics

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Scott Brown's Facebook Friendonomics displays the artificial and apocryphal aspects of friendship that society encounters on social media. In today's society, social media has driven our minds to seek the latest and greatest news and relationships with people that we may not know in person. Glueing our eyes to our LED screens and gathering numerous amounts of data by the minute is a habit that society can't seem to break. Brown acknowledges the technological revolution that is affecting the lives of humans, but he does not appreciate the fact that he can't seem to let go of some of his friends which he believes is the natural process of human interaction. Brown's disdain voice is displayed through the allusions, imagery, and analogy that he …show more content…

For example, Brown refers to the Rolodex when discussing the value of friendship. He states, “Friending has subsumed the ol’ Rolodex… But the great thing about the Rolodex was that it never talked back…” (Brown, 342). Brown’s reference to the Rolodex explains how effortless it may be to meet someone through social media and instantly become friends. However, online friendships can be distant and can't prepare one for the values of face-to-face …show more content…

All in all, Brown’s analogy reveals a negative aspect of online friends by comparing them to the greed that many people experience with money. In addition, Brown compares all of his Facebook friends to the "medals on Mussolini's chest" (Brown, 342). The analogy being made here is that Brown's vast amount of Facebook friends are as pointless as most of the metals on Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Therefore, these analogies supports Brown's argument that online friends remove the original sensations and values behind proper