I just read this article on "how Facebook is better for the environment than solar panels." http://www.good.is/post/conspicuous-but-not-consuming/
They make a very interesting point, that the old gold standard for status—consumption—is being replaced by online expressions. One particular example is how you can display your social capital on Facebook by having a certain set of friends. (Read: Can I get the people popular in the group of people I want to be popular with to be my Facebook friend?)
All this may be good news for the environment in some ways, especially as people in developing countries posture for status in a way that will subvert the wasteful posturing of their dictators. However, there has to be a human balance to this. I hold that sites such as Facebook should reinforce existing embodied relationships and help create new ones. However, if we merely sublimate consumption and wasting of resources into a dehumanizing commodification of names, I'm not sure we've gained much.
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