Facebook - Social Network

On June 11, I made a comment as follows.
“The wonderful weapon was given to us. We are able to send out our message through internet.”
I think a good example is making a circle of friends on Facebook.
According to Wikipedia, about 500 million people are using facebook currently, and SocialBakers  says over 700 million people are using.
However, Japan has only 700,000 users domestically. This number is very low compare to other countries.

Why?

I think one reason is that Japanese people in general do not feel very comfortable using English.

Another reason might be that you are supposed to expose your real name and picture in public on facebook in principle.
Japanese people were known as being modest in the past. And modesty was considered a beautiful quality. 　
However, this kind of culture has created Japanese being too submissive and subservient as expressed in proverbs such as;
You cannot win against someone who doesn't listen to reason (e.g. a crying child or a violent lord);
You can't fight City Hall

Or;

If you can't beat them, join them. That's the easiest way to get through life.
Yield to the powerful.
As a result, people feel government and politics are something very far away from them.

But, I would like to say that we are not living in the old age any more.
We need to be more and more outspoken. We all should be able to share our opinion openly.
I was already over 60 when I learned how to use a computer, so I only knew how to type, how to exchange e-mail, or how to do a google search. But, gradually, I have learned more about computer and internet from my company staff.

So, I came to know that social network system such as facebook or mixi has amazing potential.
Now, the number of my facebook friends reached 5000, and I cannot accept any more friend request. But, still, I keep receiving messages from people around the world asking me to be their friend. The content of these messages are so wonderful. So, I asked my staff to expand the friend request allowance.
As soon as it is finished, I will send my message tomy facebook friends like every day.
It is so wonderful to be able to become friends with people around the world while staying in Japan.