Voyeurism as entertainment goes back further than one might think. We were watching Christians and gladiators fight for their lives in Roman coliseums long before reality television began capitalizing on our voyeuristic tendencies. The Coventry tailor, Peeping Tom, was stealing forbidden glimpses of Lady Godiva’s naked body centuries before condominium telescopes began pointing into neighbourhood windows. We were depicting our sexual fantasies in crude cave drawings eons before Internet and pornography discovered each other.
A glimpse into others’ private affairs can elicit a range of emotions: anger, laughter, sympathy, despair, shock, and, of course, the satisfaction of having the tiniest, juiciest peek into someone else’s daily life.
Yes, we are all unabashed voyeurs. We’re nosy and we can’t help ourselves.
But if you thought pornography embodied the ultimate form of entertainment for voyeurs, you might have to think again.
Last October, Bill Tancer of Internet tracking firm Hitwise reported on Time.com that Facebook had become the most popular Internet site for those aged 18 to 24. Porn sites ranked fourth after search engines and web-based e-mail.
In other age brackets, Tancer reported a general increase in visits to social networking sites and a decrease in visits to online porn sites.
For those living under a rock, Facebook is a social networking site started by a handful of Harvard University students. Members create a profile and upload photos, which are accessible to their friends as well as anyone else on their network.
Now, it is possible that we just enjoy keeping in touch with friends more than ogling at online skin as Tancer concluded, but this would ignore what Facebook and porn have in common – they both cater to voyeurs.
Whereas porn pairs off voyeurism with sex, Facebook’s success can be attributed to its ability to satisfy a combination of voyeurism and bonafide nosiness.
When I joined Facebook last year, I began to notice a strange pattern. I was getting friend requests from people I had long forgotten about including a few people who never liked me and a bunch of people I don’t even know.
Last week, a childhood friend from 20 years ago added me as a friend on Facebook. Of course, just as I had feared, he began by asking the inevitable question, “What have you been up to all these years?” But I could rest assured that this was only a nicety; after a couple of messages back and forth, he too faded into the background, lurking in the shadows where he was able to observe my every Facebook move like a cyber ninja stalker.
Why else would a co-worker or a classmate who rarely says hello to you suddenly add you as a friend? On more than one occasion, I’ve run into Facebook friends of mine on the street where we don’t even acknowledge one another.
Clearly, Facebook friendship is no ordinary friendship. It seems as though by adding someone as a friend, you’re saying, “Look, I’ll repeatedly ogle at the photos of you and all your sorority sisters and you can stalk my cat and we’ll both skip the small talk, deal?”
Of course, if you’re concerned about privacy, your Facebook friends could be the least of your worries. In one instance, a video circulating on the Internet suggests that Facebook may be compiling information for the C.I.A. and the U.S. Department of Defence.
Luckily, they still haven’t found the pictures of me and Osama slamming back shots during frosh week a few years back.
Regardless, the site is getting more popular every day. Even those who vowed they would never become a member are now joining the site and this is a testament to our preoccupation with the lives of others. Facebook is but the latest tool for us to engage in one of the most basic human preoccupations, observing others for personal gratification.