Using Facebook for Aspies

[ More Articles ] A few years ago, I believed that social networking sites were nuisances which I was forced to join when too many friends send me invitations. In December 2009, I suddenly realized that: With photos and names listed explictly, I can keep track of my friends even when I have trouble with names and faces. All the background information of my friends are available for me to reference. Friends provide updates with which I can use as a context to reestablish contact with them where neccessary. All my online communications are recorded and available for me to plan my next social exchange. Social exchanges in real life are simplified and emulated on Facebook. For instance, pokes can be likened to a brief touch on the shoulder. Unlike in real life, I can maintain total control of the impression I create via my own profile and what I choose to share.

Here are some recommendations for people with autism on how to use Facebook:

• Social Policy Manager: Determine how you want to protray yourself. Set what you want to share and what you do not want to share, at the level of your friends, friends of friends, your network and the whole world. Determine what kind of friends you like and what kind you don't like. Then implement these settings into your real life. Model your real life social activity and policies based on what you have set in Facebook.
   
• Experiment with Socialization: Facebook offers you a simplified version of actual social interaction between people. Experiment with your new social strategies with your Facebook account first, then implement it in real life.
   
• Collect Social Intel: Facebook can provide the information that we can use to initiate conversations. We can also use Facebook to substitute for some real life socialization, for instance, to comment on our friends' developments and to inform them about our updates.
   
• Learn from other people: Study the Facebook profiles of your friends and see how they interact with their friends (including what photos they choose to share). This can provide invaluable social insights.
   
• Find valuable contacts: Many people use Facebooks to find new employees, interns, volunteers etc. Showcase your achievements, projects, resume and dreams on your profile and you might catch someone's eye.
   
• Avoid chatting: Online chatting is highly distracting to people like yourself, who have difficulty with multi-tasking. Focus on posting photos, writing articles and contributing comments.
   
• Stay away from Games: They are designed to make you addicted. There are many more important things to do in Life than play such games all day.

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Last modified: Wed, 10 March 2010
Note: This may be only a minor modification (e.g. changing a spelling mistake)