Facebook and Its Uses as a Social Networking Site

Many people confirm that the twenty-first century is an era of technological diversity. It is a period when people who wish to communicate can send and receive information and messages instantly through electronic devices and media tools. Many of them communicate through online websites. These websites called social media sites emerge as the new tools to drive communication to the next level aside from personal conversations. In other words, the use of the Internet and its components such as social networking sites and others dictates some changes in people and society as well.

However, traditional people still deny the challenge that they face with technological changes. They refuse to believe that social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and many others can influence their lifestyles and that those sites will affect their ways of living. No matter how hard for them to deny this discovery, the fact remains clear that social networking sites, whatever their names may be, play an important factor, as well as the role, to influence life.

The Use of Facebook as a Tool for Human Advancement in Communication

As noted, social media sites and the help of technology have advanced human life. For example, people use Facebook to express their ideas and thoughts, communicate personal information, and broadcast memorable events of their lives (Wang, Chen, and Liang, 2011, p. 23). With the help of technology, they can send their messages and important reports through mobile phone devices and the Internet connection.

To prove, people can utilize these technological innovations to aid people to make their lives easier, and these technological innovations emerge as the new friends that keep these people stayed together. Although Facebook has been created so that people can share their common interests and professional objectives, it evolves to become a complicated social network of people. Its complexity affects people especially the students. Though many people affirm that Facebook is not beneficial for the people and society as well, it also offers advantages in which people must think critically.

Additionally, the impact of using Facebook on people nowadays cannot be underestimated. Facebook utilizes the Internet to create a new platform effective for communication in society. It adds a new version of communication exchange with the use of the Internet and computers so people can communicate with their relatives, friends, and loved ones. For people who work abroad, they can still build a strong connection even if they are parted by distance and time (Wortham, 2012, p. 1). With the use of some features, Facebook enables people to receive and send messages as well as video calls to all individuals.

This graph presents the data from Hootsuite / We Are Social to determine who use Facebook at https://www.businessofapps.com/data/facebook-statistics/

In other words, the use of Facebook and any other social networking site goes beyond boundaries because its fundamental purpose is communication. Families that are settled abroad can usually use Facebook to contact their family members and friends on Facebook. Further, soldiers who are involved in a battle in distant countries can still communicate even they are too far from their relatives. Business owners who newly build their businesses can use Facebook to promote their product items. Students, who have problems with the assignments, can discuss the topics and personal matters on it. Above all, the impact of using Facebook on people cannot be underestimated.

Moreover, Facebook emerged as the new social platform where reclusive people and those people who suffer from low self-esteem can interact with other people. Many people who are currently enjoying successful relations identified their spouses through Facebook and, as a result, knew each other on that platform. For them, it is easy to make friends through social media sites from different countries. Persons who are restricted to their homes due to personal disability and who have little chances of interacting with people can use Facebook to interact and share ideas with others (Wortham, 2012, p. 1). Disabled people can now utilize Facebook to discuss personal matters with their friends to avoid being isolated and lonely. As such, Facebook becomes a gift for introverted people and those people who suffer from low self-esteem to interact with them.

Further, the unique platforms such as pages and open groups of Facebook encourage people to use them. For example, Facebook takes into the commercial world by a storm. Enterprises adopt the use of Facebook platforms to communicate with other business people and share vital information. They even embrace Facebook as a new platform for ads and marketing campaigns for social media marketing. The result of this effort allows many businesses to gain success (Rose, 2011, p. 2). Hence, Facebook remains beneficial and helpful.

However, despite all praises that Facebook achieves, it also faces some negative effects on society. One of the biggest drawbacks of Facebook to society is social media addiction. It allows young people to turn to be online social media zombies. These young people are incapable of doing anything else. Facebook has made them addicts of their communication devices, and they fail in their abilities to live a normal life without interference from social media. Another side effect of using Facebook is that people with no known origins can communicate and get accessed to their profiles. These strangers and unfamiliar people may be bad people who can be murderers or criminals. Further, Facebook is associated with the black agenda that spread hate messages, which have caused disharmony in several parts of the world (Aaker, 2010, p. 15). Thus, the use of Facebook can be risky when people never know their boundaries.

In a nutshell, the use of Facebook for progress is beneficial. Groups of people can be productive if they try to embrace the advantage of Facebook. They become effective communicators if they use Facebook for business and communication. However, Facebook can be a tool for destruction if people use it wrongly. These social media sites are the mediums for communication, but they may become tools of destruction once mistakenly used.

Works Cited

    • Aaker, Jennifer L, Andy Smith, and Carlye Adler. “The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change.” San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, 2010.
    • Wortham, “It’s not about You, Facebook. It’s About Us.” February 11, 2012
    • Kirkpatrick, David. “The Facebook Effect: And How It Is Changing Our Lives.” London: John Murray, 2010.
    • Wang, Qingya, Wei Chen, and Yu Liang. “The Effects of Social Media on College Students.” Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI, 2011.
    • Rose, Josh. How Social Media Is Having A Positive Impact On Our Culture [Opinion]. (2011). Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://mashable.com/2011/02/23/social-media-culture/#:eyJzIjoiZyIsImkiOiJfN3k3eTBjbGRndHNhZWxwbyJ9>.