NCoC: Can Facebook Replace Face-to-Face?

Home About Programs Media Research Discussions Solutions

NCOC Featured Discussion

Can Facebook Replace Face-to-Face?

November 14, 2008

We are more polarized than ever. This is occurring not just at the elite level but among the mass of voters making it difficult to come together for the common good. This is leading to political and civic niches.

Featured Experts

Sandra Day O’ConnorFormer Justice of the Supreme Court
I thought we needed to develop a program in the civics area, starting first with the courts and put it online with the computer and develop some actual participatory games to be played by the students that teach them as they’re going about the judicial system, and we’re well under way with that.
Ian RoweVice president of Strategic Partnerships and Public Policy, MTVI think there’s tremendous opportunity in the technologies we talked about in the prior panel. Incredible in terms of new types of communications – communications between people who already know one another. I think the greatest opportunities we have are those in which we facilitate communication between people who don’t know each other and who likely would never have the chance to meet other than on the internet.

The 2008 National Conference on Citizenship raised this provocative question with Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook and Bill Galston of the Brookings Institute. Parker and Galston discussed, and sometimes debated, the impact of the internet on political and civic involvement. Political advisor and internet innovator, Joe Trippi moderated the discussion that delved into the impact of social networks and other online experiences on civic and political involvement.

The arrival of a new medium is often met with mixed emotions. In the 1930s, radio was both praised for its educational potential and scorned as absolute rubbish. These descriptions sound remarkably like current discussions of all media - from radio to television to the internet - and their impact on the public.

Internet communication has received particular scrutiny and criticism for its perceived “fault” of having people much too engaged online instead of actual face-to-face interaction. But has online engagement received an unfair judgment? The 2008 Civic Health Index shows that 52 percent of non-college youth and 57 percent of college youth use social networking sites for civic purposes. What is the impact of social networks and other online experiences on civic and political involvement? Can Facebook replace face-to-face? Is that even the right question?

If you like this kind of content, sign up for an NCoC.net account and we'll customize your homepage recommendations based on your interests..

Find More Articles About...

eCitizenship, Family & Friends

2 Comments

By Anonymous at 6:40 PM on Feb 2nd, 2010

i dont know if im on the right topic here.. however i do feel that facebook may have the power to over take face-to-face interaction.. as i may be one of these people.. i do not know whether this is a good a bad thing.

By Anonymous at 6:57 PM on Feb 2nd, 2010

facebook is pretty addictive.. and i am a teenager myself and because access to facebook is really easy, i go on it everyday, during school, before and after. facebook is awesome.. but i am too addicted and others might be too..

NCoC on

View Timeline

Tweets by @NCoC

Volunteering as a Pathway to EmploymentJune 18, 2013 NCoC and Points of Light Begin Search for America’s Top 50 Community-Minded CompaniesJune 6, 2013 Texas Ranks Among Lowest in Nation for Political Participation and Civic InvolvementJune 4, 2013

Dave DelucaJune 21, 2012 Jacob SoboroffApril 11, 2012 Dev AujlaFebruary 28, 2012