Since the creation of Facebook,
there have been many changes with the way we spend time, receive news,
communicate with friends and possibly the way we view ourselves. With the
addition to Facebook in our society there have been many benefits and
drawbacks. In its entirety, we can’t seem to come to a conclusion as a society
as to whether or not the good outweighs the bad.
Facebook
is one of the easiest ways to communicate with people all over the world. The
best part is, communicating across the planet is completely cost free with a
Facebook account. As time goes on, we see more and more people moving away from
their hometowns and living in different states or countries. With families
spreading around the world, Facebook is an amazing tool to help people stay in
touch when they are geographically distant. An example of families using
Facebook to stay in touch is the increase of soldiers using Facebook video chat
to talk to their families. According to an article by USA Today, many soldiers
deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan use Facebook daily to talk to their family back
home and this keeps the spirits of the soldiers up (Chalmers 2011).
Facebook
has also helped many companies advertise online. Businesses are able to pay a
fee to advertise on Facebook. According to an article by the Huffington Post,
Facebook uses the personal information that we put on our profiles to target
the specific demographic that the advertiser is trying to reach (Tyson 2016). A business person can choose what age
group, race or gender they want to advertise their product to. This lets
businesses target an audience, which in theory, creates a more successful
advertisement.
Although
there has been an overwhelming amount of benefits that Facebook has brought to
the world, there are some very horrible things that have occurred due to the
creation of Facebook. Cyberbullying is one of the most evident negative
effects. Before the creation of Facebook, perhaps cyberbullying existed, but it
was not a word that most American’s new. In 2016 however, we all know what
cyberbullying is. We have seen the news stories of the Facebook horror stories,
and in fact, many of us have been victims of cyberbullying ourselves. According
to bullyingstatistics.org, over half of all teens have experienced cyberbullying
and around twenty-five percent say it occurs repeatedly. However only one in
ten teens feel comfortable telling an adult if they have been bullied online
(TeenHelp.com 2016). Bullying has always
excised in some form, however, the bullies have adapted to using social media
to execute their form of torture. Facebook lacks supervision from adults and
many middle or high school students are able to say things online that they are
not able to get away with at the physical school. Also, there is an element of
dehumanization when someone is cyber bullying, because they are not bullying
the actual victim in person, causing the bully to say even crueler things that
they wouldn’t normally say.
Facebook also can lead
to a lot of future regret with posts. It is very easy to post onto Facebook.
Most of us can do it within seconds on our mobile devices. However, in many
cases, things are posted that we may regret down the road. Perhaps someone is
angry about something and posts a statement that could be offensive. This
offensive post could do damage to someone’s friendships, career and possibly
something in their future. According to an article by CBS New York, one out of
three Facebook users reported that they regret something that they posted and
twenty-one percent have removed a post due to fear of losing employment (NewYork.CBSlocal.com 2013). Because we have access to broadcasting
our thoughts and feelings to such a large group faster than ever, sometimes we
do so without thinking of who might see it and how they might react.
I believe that Facebook is overall negative for me. I do
see many positives, and I believe that it is a good thing to have for many
people. In my life however, I have found more negatives than positives as far
as my Facebook is concerned. I created my account when I was fifteen and I was
in a competition amongst my peers to see who could have the most “friends” on
Facebook. By the time I was eighteen my friend count was in the thousands and I
began feeling unsafe. I would get negative and/or creepy inboxes from strangers
daily. My Facebook page ended up becoming a major stress in my life, but for
whatever reason, I found myself logging on multiple times a day! Thankfully a
few years ago, I got the strength to delete all of my social media accounts. At
first it was rather difficult, but I can say today that I am extremely happy
and my life is awesome without Facebook.
I believe with Facebook, there is a pressure to appear
like the ultimate version of yourself and its usually inaccurate. What you see
is usually not what you get with Facebook. Because Facebook is so new, it’s
basically a free for all, although I have heard it has changed since I deleted
my account. Anyone can act as anyone and people for the most part can say
whatever they please. It has proven scary for me in my life, not to mention a
massive waste of my teenage years.
Chalmers, Mike.
"Social Media Allow Military Families a Deeper Connection." USA
Today. Gannett, 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
<http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-11-28/military-deployment-social-media/51349158/1>.
Newyork.cbslocal.com.
"Tweeter's Remorse? Some Users Regret What They've Shared On Social
Media." CBS New York. N.p., 29 July 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
<http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/07/29/tweeters-remorse-some-users-regret-what-theyve-shared-on-social-media/>.
@TeenHelp.com.
"Cyber Bullying Statistics - Bullying Statistics." Bullying
Statistics. N.p., 07 July 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html>.
Tyson, Matthew.
"Why Small Businesses Should Use Facebook Advertising." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 May 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-tyson/why-small-businesses-shou_b_10046180.html>.
Drew, you provide some great examples in your blog and also highlight an important point: that Facebook is global and free! However, I feel that although you had a negative experience with Facebook (FB), if used carefully, the benefits of the site outweigh the negative. I wonder if now that you’re older, you might be able to use Facebook again and have a better experience.
ReplyDeleteI know many people who have taken a break from FB, sometimes for a number of years, but have returned. People take breaks for many reasons. One friend had emigrated to New Zealand and was having severe mental health issues. He couldn’t cope with either negativity, or with looking at other people’s seemingly perfect lives they were portraying. He took a break. Now his head is in a better place, and is back on FB with a smaller friend list; it’s good to see him doing well and sharing stories.
Personally, I now try not to paint the picture on Facebook that my life is perfect, as I know that is not representative. It’s taken time to reach that conclusion, as no one wants to look bad. But, if I post a picture of me looking terrible, it might give friends comfort that it’s okay to not be perfect. Maybe, when you’re ready, you could try again, with a smaller friend list. As you and friends move around more, you may want to keep people in your life updated with what you’re up to, to keep those connections.