Are social media like Facebook the new front porches?
When I grew up in Chicago, neighbors hung out on front porches to wave to passersby and engage in civil conversation. There were almost no rear decks, only makeshift patios. Backyards were for the more private events or kids playing, running from yard to yard.
In the suburbs, mostly unused rear decks have replaced the more neighborly front porches. Ironically, they do not seem to be used all that much.
A study shows that the two areas in the U.S. where the highest numbers of new homes come with decks are the Upper Midwest (46%) and New England (63%), even though they have the shortest seasons for usage.
Perhaps a rear deck is now largely a symbol of leisurely connection with others.
In any case, decks can’t compete with front porches in urban areas. Such porches are one of the greatest communications media (technologies?) ever devised.
A social medium like Facebook is designed for the cyber-suburbs. It’s the new place for gathering, gossiping, and goofing around. It’s become a natural way to find out about friends, relatives, and peers—sometimes even real, proximate neighbors (although Nextdoor seems to be capturing that role; I launched my neighborhood on it).
Used well, Facebook equips us to know what to care about and whom to care for. Perhaps a good rule for posting on Facebook is not to include anything that you wouldn’t say to neighbors on the front porch.
Let’s be neighborly, one medium or the other.
— Dr. Q