As you think about your family’s online time, don’t make the mistake of discounting Facebook’s online footprint. In fact, at the start of 2018, the social media giant logged over two billion monthly active users. Facebook is officially not a fad or a has-been, especially among teens!
Alongside chatting, posting photos, and sharing news articles, Facebook also offers video streaming, voice calls, virtual reality, video games, and more. So when someone talks about “using Facebook,” they could mean just about anything!
So, what can you do on Facebook today?
While you’re already familiar with posting in the News Feed, chatting with Messenger, and liking cat videos, there’s much more you and your kids (ages 13 and up) can do on Facebook.
Join a group.
Facebook has millions of groups organized around common interests, where members share to a group feed, organize events, and more.
Experience virtual reality.
Oculus (an early VR venture) is owned by Facebook, so you can experience cutting-edge virtual reality content on Facebook with your VR hardware.
Send money.
Similar to Venmo and Apple Pay, you can send and request payments from Facebook users in the Messenger app. People use services like these for all sorts of reasons, like sending out the weekly allowance!
Buy on Marketplace.
The days of Craigslist are long gone, because you can buy and sell just about anything from other Facebook users via Marketplace. Marketplace offers local listings as well as mail-order items.
Watch original content.
With online streaming growing year after year with services like Netflix and Hulu, Facebook didn’t want to feel left out. Facebook users can tap the “Watch” tab to see original video content.
Live-stream video games.
Facebook’s Twitch-alternative lets users stream their Fornite matches and other video game sessions in real time.
Look for a job.
Similar to LinkedIn, businesses and potential employees can use Facebook’s Jobs tab to pair the right person to the right job.
Order food.
Facebook, in partnership with Grubhub, can deliver food from local restaurants to your door.
Call your friends.
With Facebook Messenger, users can both voice and video call each other alongside text-based chatting.
Donate to a cause.
Facebook makes use of its large user-base to facilitate fundraising for various causes and donations for crises around the world like floods and natural disasters.
This list might seem comprehensive, but there’s actually a lot more available on Facebook, like playing games, connecting with your local representative, getting recommendations for local plumbers, and finding discount offers from local retailers. Facebook aspires to be the center of your family’s online experience by offering its own spin on as many popular services as possible.
Manage it all with Circle.
Facebook isn’t always cupcakes and rainbows for everyone, which is where Circle comes in. Circle makes it easy to set limits for Facebook, from Filtering the site altogether to setting a daily Time Limit. Just open a Profile and tap on “Filter” to allow or not allow Facebook.
Or, tap on Time Limits to put a daily cap on Facebook time or Social Media in general. When a Time Limit runs out, your family member will get a push notification on their mobile device, so they know that their time’s up.
As always, you can keep up with how much time is spent on Facebook in Usage under the Social Media category.
Learn more about filtering Platforms and keep up with the newest on Facebook from Common Sense Media.
