Sherman Alexie’s Poem, The Facebook Sonnet Shows Indulgence in Social Media

In today’s modern society, social media has become a part of our everyday lives. Typically, we utilize these online communal interactions to reminisce with past friends, establish connections with new people, and flaunt countless pictures of our loved ones to our fellow friends. For these reasons, public networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become very accommodating tools in allowing us to communicate with others from all parts of the world. However, Sherman Alexie’s poem, “The Facebook Sonnet”, suggests that many users have become so indulged in social networking that they have lost the ability to effectively manage their own lives, connect with others, protect their reputation, and possess a genuine connection with God.

Sherman Alexie first “welcomes” his readers to “the endless high-school / Reunion. Welcome to past friends / And lovers, however kind or cruel”. First and foremost, it is apparent that satire is being used during these first few lines and throughout almost the entire poem. The reasoning for this is to pull readers in, allowing them to place themselves in the author’s position and to further understand his viewpoint. Alexie’s assertion that Facebook users overly reunite with people from their past corresponds with the fact that most of these said members probably compare their present day lives to their former friends’ or even to their own past lives. This is portrayed in lines 4-5, “Let’s undervalue and unmend / The present”. Essentially, they have become unable to properly manage their own lives without worrying about others’ reactions. Each of the affirmations that are hidden behind these satirical words are less difficult to comprehend with the author’s use of repetition. For example, the word “...

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...probably thinks that Facebook is being used more frequently by people to occupy themselves, give false impressions of their lives, and even to attempt to create a relationship with God. Alexie’s main reason for writing this poem was to show people that social media in general – not just Facebook – can really bring out the ignorance in people. Specifically, people need to spend more time being physically together rather than virtually connecting via Facebook. Social media has diminished the importance of face-to-face conversation and the pleasure of having someone physically at-side. Sherman Alexie’s “The Facebook Sonnet” reiterates that there needs to be a balance between social networking and reality. People should relish their own time and existence, making memories with those they love and who can support them in such a way that social media will never be capable.