The Social Network

The movie The Social Network finally made it to the cheap theater and we were talked into watching it the other night by a friend at work.

I didn't have super high expectations of the movie since I assumed it would highlight the non-academic side of college (which it did) and I don' t in general have a super high view of Facebook the corporation in general (they change the rules way to often and have way to much control). However, it wasn't as bad as I thought and I can see why it's been an award contender this year.

My guess is that most of the movie is a fabrication loosely based on truth...but there were a few "facts" that did take me by surprise.

FACT: Napster was co-created in 1999 by Sean Parker and operated for about three years. Shawn ends up playing a role in helping Facebook grow.
REALIZATION: Wow, I had completely forgotten about the very existence of Napster. Napster was such a big part of the college scene when I went to school. It was very common to walk into almost any dorm room and find someone browsing Napster. But once it was shut down due to lawsuits it was on to the next thing. It made me realize just how fast Internet programs change and how forgettable they are.

FACT: We caught the 7:00 p.m. showing of Facebook and out of the about 80 people in the theater, we were the youngest in the room by about 20 year.

REALIZATION: I did not expect this movie to be of interested to an older generation. I forgot that Facebook really was only created 7 years ago and really was only available to non-college age groups after 2004. For some reason it feels like Facebook has been a part of life forever. I do wonder how many older people are still scratching their heads trying to figure facebook in general out. It made me wonder if the film was largely watched that night by people just trying to figure out why Facebook is so popular and what exactly it is.

FACT: Facebook is addictive.
REALIZATION: Ok, I could have told you that from my personal experience. :)  Ironically earlier that day before we had decided to go and see The Social Network, a link about being obsessed with Facebook was circulated around the office. It's a fun infographic and the most interesting fact to me is that "48% of young Americans said they find out about news through facebook". You can see the full infographic here: http://mashable.com/2011/01/12/obsessed-with-facebook-infographic

FACT: The Social Network portrays heavily the college party scene.
REALIZATION: While, I don't think the majority of college students experience the party scene quite to the extent as depicted in the movie, the party scene is a part of most colleges and the desire for belonging among students is quite huge. I left the movie again reminded of why I work for InterVarsity: InterVarsity and our staff offer a different voice and different solutions in the search for belonging than what most of their peers will tell them. I think if anyone ever asks me again why I work for InterVarsity, I'll just tell them to watch this movie.