Let me start out by saying I'm not a very active Facebook-er and its not for any specific reason.
The idea of being able to connect with people around the world in a matter of seconds is really cool. Being able to talk with friends through a quick and easy interface is very practical. Like most things on the Internet these days however, Facebook can be a very useful tool or a great distraction.
If I'm sick and can't make it to school its important for me to get the homework and notes I may have missed that day. I can do this quite easily through Facebook by simply sending a short message to a friend or even a teacher. In a matter of seconds I could have all the work I missed at school and start working on my make up work that day instead of waiting until I feel well enough to go to school.
This however is not always what Facebook is used for of course. It's mostly used as a source of entertainment and place to find funny pictures. People can spend hours on Facebook without really doing anything useful. This is not done by accident though. Facebook's main source of revenue is adds. So naturally the designers of Facebook spend hours trying to figure out how to keep people online and distracted. The longer your distracted the more revenue they make.
I knew Facebook wasn't that privet already and people could easily destroy their reputation by posting dumb pictures and foolish posts. I hadn't thought to much however about how young a lot of Facebook users are. I know I'm not old but 12 and younger is pretty young even for me. I wonder if these kids will grow up almost brainwashed thinking Facebook is the only option for socialization online. Will they explore other options and know how much "privet" information Facebook has of them?
I want to think that Facebook is evil and only here to exploit us but the more I think about the more I realize its ultimately up to us. If we don't like Facebook we just have to stop using it or make a big enough uproar so other people can know what we know and decide how important their information is.
The idea of being able to connect with people around the world in a matter of seconds is really cool. Being able to talk with friends through a quick and easy interface is very practical. Like most things on the Internet these days however, Facebook can be a very useful tool or a great distraction.
If I'm sick and can't make it to school its important for me to get the homework and notes I may have missed that day. I can do this quite easily through Facebook by simply sending a short message to a friend or even a teacher. In a matter of seconds I could have all the work I missed at school and start working on my make up work that day instead of waiting until I feel well enough to go to school.
This however is not always what Facebook is used for of course. It's mostly used as a source of entertainment and place to find funny pictures. People can spend hours on Facebook without really doing anything useful. This is not done by accident though. Facebook's main source of revenue is adds. So naturally the designers of Facebook spend hours trying to figure out how to keep people online and distracted. The longer your distracted the more revenue they make.
I knew Facebook wasn't that privet already and people could easily destroy their reputation by posting dumb pictures and foolish posts. I hadn't thought to much however about how young a lot of Facebook users are. I know I'm not old but 12 and younger is pretty young even for me. I wonder if these kids will grow up almost brainwashed thinking Facebook is the only option for socialization online. Will they explore other options and know how much "privet" information Facebook has of them?
I want to think that Facebook is evil and only here to exploit us but the more I think about the more I realize its ultimately up to us. If we don't like Facebook we just have to stop using it or make a big enough uproar so other people can know what we know and decide how important their information is.
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