FACEBOOK’S IMPACT
Facebook is the largest social network site in the United States and in Europe, with the highest penetration among Internet users (DIJCK, 45). As an avid user of Facebook myself, I find it hard to believe that at one point it didn’t exist. It has become such a part of people’s lives that you can easily learn their life story just by checking their Facebook page. With that being said, there are positive and negatives effects that Facebook has on people.
Facebook makes meeting new people fairly easy as it is like a social melting pot of the internet. It seems to me that people find it a lot easier to start a conversation with someone over Facebook than in real life. I know this because I am guilty of doing this as well as my friends. Facebook also makes it easy to express yourself with simply posting a status update. It is a lot harder to feel embarrassed over the internet than in person, but venting/ expressing yourself too much can lead to some backlash.
When you think about it, we share everything with the world. Sharing is how we started to become a social media addict. We used to be all about privacy, but with Facebook it has opened doors for more information to get out there. They give us the ability to share our whole lives, with the ability can bring a lot of creeps and danger. Facebook is a stalker friendly website. Someone that you don’t know can say that they go to your school, add you, and get all your information. This may include phone number or even locations you visit frequently. Not to mention they can go through all your pictures and get to know you completely without you ever knowing. This is a scary thought, but it is a real issue.
This platform meets to primary needs for humans which is the need to belong and the need for self-promote. I believe self-esteem and self-worth work closely together with social platforms, but Facebook was the start of it all. People need social validation and have concern for attention. It causes insecurity because it makes people compare themselves to others. People pretend to show a perfect life, a perfect image of happiness even though they know that is a lie just to seem like they fit in and that everything is normal.
Facebook replaces how we get our information and how we think. We rely heavily on the information and people we follow on Facebook which is scary to think, but we all do it. There is a lot of fake news out there and the problem with that with the help of Facebook is that we like pages and people that share the same interest and belief so we don’t get all of the news. We have a social responsibility to educate ourselves from both angles so we can create our own opinions.
“This platform has played an important role in spreading (America) social norms into other national user communities worldwide” (Dijck 57). It’s hard to stop using Facebook since everyone has it. It has become a part of who we are and to delete the account makes us believe that we are missing out. “People intrinsic motivations are strong enough that they gravitate toward experiences that reward them” (SHIRKY, 93). It’s the desire to feel connected which is why Facebook has been such a huge impact on our society as we move into a digital era.
Dijck, José Van. The culture of connectivity: a critical history of social media. Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2013. Print.
Shirky, Clay. Cognitive surplus: how technology makes consumers into collaborators. New York: Penguin , 2010. Print.
