Imagine a kid with a fair amount of friends that he sees on
a daily basis. He spends the majority of his time with his friends. They do not
do anything bad they just hang out. Then this new websites comes out and all
his friends are obsessed with it, but he refuses to get on to it. He still
hangs out with his friends from time but this “Facebook” has changed their
whole dynamic. He does not see the big deal about it but he makes an account
just so he can see what is up with all the commotion.
Facebook was started by a guy named Mark Zuckerberg who
attended Harvard. There was a lot of controversy the site in the beginning, but
now he is the sole owner. There was a
movie about Facebook’s beginning which did a real good job of telling Mark’s
story. Facebook started as something that was just for college students to talk
to one another and share experiences, but now is a global website that many
people are a part of. I think that it has drastically changed how we all use
the internet. It has introduced us with people from all around the world, most
of whom we would have never met in our regular life. It allows us to be friends
with different people of different races and learn about different cultures. I
myself have never befriended anyone I don’t know because that is just weird to
try to talk to someone online you do not even know. In my book you are supposed
to leave strangers lone, but not everyone online would follow those rules. I
think Facebook has done a great job of maintaining its message of staying
connected with friends. However, many of its users do not always share the
founder’s sentiments.
Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and countless
others are what are enthralling this generation. Some would say that this has a
negative effect on us while others have only good things to say. Whichever sideyou find yourself on, by now your curiosity has forced you to at least visit
one of these sites. I know what you are
thinking; I have heard about it and everyone around me is on it and rambling
about this and that and how great it is, but I am going to stay away because it
has nothing for me. I know this because this was my first reaction to Facebook.
I kept hearing about how everyone is on it and it was going to consume your
life as well if you get on, but I was determined to be the odd man out. That
mode of thinking, however, did not last very long. According to Facebook, I
became a member in 2010 but to be honest I could not remember if you paid me. I
like Facebook and I think that it is a cool site, but I never understood the
hype. I most definitely would not say that I am a diehard Facebook fan; I am
just an average user that uses it to talk with my friends. Facebook has been my
only online social identity and I did not understand its’ true function until I
came up to UK. If you do look me up, I rarely upload pictures because I am not
a big fan of being photographed so that is why my profile picture is of my
favorite NBA team.
Facebook was always been just something for me to do when I
was bored so I have never understood why people are so addicted to it. I did
not have internet at home so I would only get to check my Facebook when I went
to the library. I would usually just check my messages and friend requests
nothing too major. If I was really bored, I would look at my friend’s profiles
and comment on their statuses. I was
never the one that wakes up at three in the morning because my phone buzzed
from a Facebook alert because one of my friends, who was an obvious an
insomniac, like a picture I took a month ago. Or at work procrastinating
because my friends uploaded a new album and I had to go through each and every
picture and “like” all the good ones. I was never like that and I cannot really
understand how anyone gets like that.
The biggest problem with Facebook today is the security of
your personal info. If you sit back and think about it, you put more on your
Facebook than on any other site. To be honest Facebook probably knows more
about you than all of your friends combined. Most people are not cautious of
what they put on Facebook because they do not think about who is looking at
their profile. I keep my profile locked down like Alcatraz with only certain
people who can see certain things. I do not really trust the ads and other
stuff they put on Facebook because I do not want anyone stealing my identity. I
can see myself getting furious if I had to prove that I really am me so I just
stay away from anything asking for my personal info. Most users do not know how
the companies on Facebook use the info they make available on their pages. Most
legislation is real lax with online laws so you better protect your personal
info before you end up with nowhere to turn to. If users would actually learn
up on the different ways to keep their profiles safe from online predators,
then the negative attitudes towards Facebook would change.
Facebook still remains a very popular site with billions of
users and I am one of them. Over the years, I have never changed my use of the
site. I just check it when I get bored. Now that I have a smart phone I can
check it on the go no matter where I am. Facebook is a great site that I would
recommend to anyone who wants to keep up with old friends. Just stay away from
anyone you do not know is my best advice for any new users. It’s a great site
with a lot of good things on it you just have to look in the right places. I
would not say that Facebook has been a big part of my life until now that I have
left all my friends behind, but Facebook is what I use to stay connected to
them. Facebook is still something I enjoy in my free time and no matter what
happens I think I will always be on Facebook.
Sources:
Pros and Cons of Facebook
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-facebook.html
History of Facebook: The Beginning of Social Networking Revolution
http://suite101.com/article/history-of-facebook-a217306
Facebook Users Share and "Like" Too Much
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255100/facebook_users_share_and_like_too_much_report_says.html
9 Reasons Why You're Hooked On Facebook
http://allfacebook.com/nin-reasons-why-youre-hooked-on-facebook_b38349
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