Facebook has been around for a long time now, pretty much everyone you meet or know has one. They may not use it often, or maybe their hand is always in their hand and they are always checking it. It’s different for everyone. Facebook has positive and negative effects to it. It has affected society and/or individuals.
One positive effect of using Facebook according to CBS Sacramento, is that it could have positive effects on one’s self esteem. There were tests done on people with both high and low self esteem and the results from looking at their own Facebook profile page. “Tests administered both before and after study participants looked at their own profile showed subjects exhibiting more confidence, as well as more self-affirmation, afterwards.” I think it’s really interesting that looking at your own Facebook profile can make you feel more reassured in yourself. It does make sense though, because obviously your profile is targeted at you and the things you love to do.
According to homebiz.bukiki.com, one positive aspect of Facebook on our society is the communication aspect. You can stay in touch with loved ones all over the world. That is a huge deal, especially with people in different countries and such. I know my family uses Facebook to stay in touch with my family who lives in Australia now. Facebook is huge in keeping in touch with them because the time difference is huge that it isn’t always convenient to talk on the phone. Another thing is that shy people can interact more with people through Facebook. They can post pictures of themselves or post a funny status to get noticed. Of course its not the same as face to face interaction, but its a start. Facebook has a lot of positive effects on society today.
Facebook may have a lot of positive effects on society or it’s users, but their are also, of course, negative effects to using Facebook. One negative effect of using Facebook is lack of communication in a sense. Although communication is a positive to Facebook, it is also a negative. According to Kevin Cain on socialmediatoday.com, “We’ve watched emoticons replace words as a tool for expressing feelings. Perhaps most importantly, we are witnessing how social media is helping to foster a society that values frequent communication more than meaningful communication. That phenomenon is what has helped Justin Bieber, with his more than 21 million Twitter followers, garner a higher Klout score than the President.” People have gotten so accustomed to just talking to someone on their Facebook rather than getting up and hanging out with them face to face. That is a huge deal, because personally, sometimes I just want to back away from social media and texting and all that stuff and just enjoy life for a little while. It’s really annoying to be constantly checking your phone, but we all do it.
According to theeconomist.com, “Facebook is bad for you: get a life!” According to the Economist and studies shown, Facebook can actually make you poor miserable with your own life. People get jealous based on what they see their “friends” doing on Facebook. “Endlessly comparing themselves with peers who have doctored their photographs, amplified their achievements and plagiarised their bons mots can leave Facebook’s users more than a little green-eyed. Real-life encounters, by contrast, are more WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).” Nothing beats the real life face to face interaction you get from being with someone. People are so used to just messaging them, but face to face encounters beat all of that.
Personally, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. I don't use my Facebook like I used to, but my family does and I think its amazing that we can stay in touch with family all over the world.
Works Cited:
n/a, . "Study: Facebook Could Have Positive Effects On Self-Esteem, Behavior." CBS Sacramento. CBS, 03 Jun 2013. Web. 3 Mar 2014. <http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/06/03/study-facebook-could-have-positive-effects-on-self-esteem-behavior/>.
Lam, Jhon S.. "Positive and Negative Effects of Facebook on Our Society Source: Positive and Negative Effects of Facebook on Our Society http://www.homebiz.bukiki.com/positive-negative-effects-facebook-our-society/
Economist, The. "Facebook is bad for you: Get a life!." The Economist. The Economist, 17 Aug 2013. Web. 3 Mar 2014. <http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583593-using-social-network-seems-make-people-more-miserable-get-life>.
Cain, Kevin. "The Negative Effects of Facebook on Communication." Social Media Today. Social Media Today, 29 Jun 2012. Web. 3 Mar 2014. <http://socialmediatoday.com/kcain/568836/negative-effects-facebook-communication>.
Hi Sam! I agree with your blog post about Facebook! It's a great way to stay connected. I have lived in so many places due to my father being in the military and thanks to Facebook I have been able to stay connected with so many of my friends! It's very awesome that you have family in Australia! I also agree with you on the part when you talked about how you wish that you could shut off all the technology and just enjoy life, I really enjoyed reading that! It was really refreshing! And I completely share that same wish, sometimes I just want to go off the grid some days and get away from all that buzzing and beeping. Also on a funny note, we both used the same source! I also read the Economists article "Get a Life" for my blog as well! It's a really interesting article about how people can be negatively affected from Facebook. And since we are on the topic on this article, what do you think? Do you think Facebook makes people depressed? Do you think it's Facebook or is it people? Personally I think that Facebook is a great source to stay connected and its nice to see pictures of your friends and family. If it makes you depressed maybe its because you're comparing yourself? Those are the questions that popped into my head when I read it. Also how scary is it that Facebook can affect someone so negatively; it's scary that social media like Facebook can impact so many people in their personal lives. Now I am going to play devils advocate here and say that the I disagree with the article by Kevin Caan. I feel that people now more than ever are all for meaningful conversation. We as human beings our relational by our very being, we thrive off relationships. And everyone knows that looking at someone through a computer screen is not as fulfilling as being with someone face to face. And when I look around at our generation everyone wants to hangout and have good times with friends, and be around people! Social media is a helpful tool to help us reach out to more people and be apart of life! Especially in College, because any club you join nowadays has a Facebook page and it allows you to stay update with events and get to know more people in your group! In this Article written by Chron, it listed 4 reasons how Facebook helps us communicate better, the 4 were “Multiple Methods of Communications, Closing the Distance, Eliminating Barriers, and Ease of Use” (Chron) This article really made light of how Facebook helps us communicate and doesn’t turn us into half- hearted communicators http://smallbusiness.chron.com/facebook-helps-communicate-66432.html! Check it out!
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"How Facebook Helps Us Communicate." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
Samantha, your point of view on Facebook I agree with. I also choose not to use Facebook as much but my family does for advertisement, networking, and social purposes. I do disagree on the Positives outweighing the negatives, I believe theirs more negativity and Facebook is not used as effectively as it should be. For the younger generations and part of ours to allow gang relation photos or alcohol/drugs be posted as if it’s casual isn’t promoting Facebook as a safe network. It’s Ignorance and most people use the website as to see who can be more successful for internet fame. Instead of your profile bio’s stating facts, it’s lies. Every incident is caught on camera and Fake accounts are being made. Is this a safe environment or society as we call it for our future? Many benefits do come with the social network, but how can a website gross and get better when people aren’t using it for the wrong reasons Let’s promote using Facebook in a positive manner. You stated great feedback from your websites but I don’t feel the positives way out the negatives.
ReplyDeleteSamantha, you bring up a lot of valid points regarding how Facebook can be a positive to our society, but I still believe that there are more negatives. I think that for our generation we were sort of brought up along with social networking so we pretty much know what its like and what it was like before we had it. For the new younger generations to come they will think that it is okay to talk to eachother more over a social networking site than in actual person. There is something wrong with this picture. Dont get me wrong having family in other parts of the world and having this tool to communicate with them is ideal, but why would a 10 year old kid that has no outside family or a big friend circle need to waste his time on Facebook. It is nothing but a distraction from there on out and even could bring things like pressure from their peers. Im glad i didnt have a Facebook in high school or middle school because im happy i got to skip out on all the drama and bullshit that comes mostly along with it. I respect and agree with most of your points but for me the negatives will always outlast the positives until we get a better understanding of what the Facebook "effect" is having on our society. Take care.
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