Facebook has changed the way social skills work on the internet. It allows people to expand who they communicate with in a very wide way. Facebook has given people the power to socialize with their “friends” right from a computer, even if their “friends” are nowhere near them. This proves how powerful Facebook is. Facebook makes it easier for people to share things about themselves with their friends. For the Western world, it is the biggest social network site with 835 million people using it (Dijck 45–46). Facebook has ultimately replaced the old behavior of social life on the internet. The people of the web now want things done for them as individuals. They want the internet to help them find things that they like (Dijck 50). Facebook has also helped make sharing a more acceptable form of internet life. Before, people were more concerned over privacy, but Facebook has opened the doors for people to be more open online (Dijck 45). Shirky argues that people tend to spend more time on social media when they have more free time. Shirky also states that people do things if they think there will be some benefit for them (Shirky 92–93). The online world can make our lives easier and allow us to communicate with others easier, so this is why something like Facebook has become so common, it makes tasks like communication easier and simpler.

Djick, Jose Van. The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.

Shirky, Clay.Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.