Don’t bag Facebook

 

Photo courtesy of phillipsandwich on Flickr

This is for all the people who think (and write) that young people use Facebook to waste their time with pointless dialogue, flaunt themselves inappropriately, engage in banal chat about drinking or bully others online.

Here’s a thread started by my 16 year old son who loves classical music and composing. Statistically, you could say he would be a target for derisive comments, and yet, read for yourself:

Maxim is composing his 8th symphony in B minor “Sinister”about an hour ago

good man maxim

cool

Bloody talented composer here. 🙂

I like! I like!! I like how’s already been pre-nicknamed

Maxim Yeah, it’s gonna be really dark and ominous. The very beginning has cello, bass, contrabassoon and bassoon with a dark unison theme. I got the inspiration from Borodin’s 2nd symphony for that.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! You must send it to me when you’re done!

Maxim Yes, but it may take a while.

can you please send it to me aswell???

YAAAAAY!!

Maxim Sure! Maybe 1 mvt at a time. This’ll take me a pretty long time.

YAAAAY!! It took brahms over a decade to make his first symphony… Take your time

Maxim Not that long, maybe a month or 2 I meant.

cool!

are there 1000 performers?

Maxim Is that a piece of music? Or are you asking whether my symphony requires that many players? Mine probably wouldn’t require 1000 players.

Well it does now!! It will include a huge choir!! And an orchestra at least 3 times the size of a normal one! YAY!!
(there’s a challenge maxim!)
Mahler’s 8th Symphony is also called “Symphony of a Thousand”. One of the best performance experiences I have ever had. Check out the ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYM54vhLYTU&feature=player_embedded#t=20
Maxim  Oh, ok. Thanks.

My older son says that his friends often share links and information about new bands or where to get sheet music. They’ll find sites which teach you how to play an instrument; they use Facebook to help each other learn or create.

For those who focus on the negative aspects of social networking, think again. There will be negative interaction online, just as there is in life, but platforms like Facebook have enabled young people to connect in new ways, to learn from each other.

3 thoughts on “Don’t bag Facebook”

  1. I guess the ones who use Facebook negatively are using De-Facebook. It’s easy to focus on the negative, but if there weren’t a lot of positive happening Facebook would have disappeared a long time ago.
    Good luck to your son with his composition. He must be an extraordinary young man.

  2. I like ‘De-Facebook’ as an expression; apt. It’s true, there is always positive as well as negative. But how often do you hear about the positive aspects in the media?

    Thanks for your kind wishes. Yes, he loves composing and is looking forward to having lessons next year.

  3. It’s funny that you wrote this post as I was on facebook when Maxim wrote about his breakfast in the city and that he was now listening to composer such and such (can’t remember who it was and can’t log in at the moment to check) and I remember reading all of the responses from his friends about the music he was listening to and the comments about the composers going back and forth between him and his friends and I thought to myself how wonderful it was – pretty much what you wrote. Later on in the day you posted about his composing discussions and your observations about the use of facebook and remember thinking how you must have read my mind – weird but I could not agree more

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