Negative Effects of Facebook
Updated on January 2, 2016
How facebook impacts our lives
The internet has become a huge part of our everyday lives. We use it for almost everything including research, pleasure, social networking, and so much more. It has become a way of life. I spend a lot of my own free time browsing the internet. The social networking site Facebook is among one of the most popular sites visited. According to Wikipedia, there are over one billion active users, myself included. Even as popular as it is, I think there are many negative effects it can have on our lives.
One negative effect Facebook has on us is it diminishes our ability to communicate. I’m not suggesting you should not communicate through it, but I do not think your life should revolve around communication through this website. Facebook makes it extremely easy to find and keep in contact with friends and family. With that said, it keeps us away from interacting outside of the internet. We now send out email invites to parties and celebrations through here, chat instead of making the phone call, and send emails instead of writing a letter. A lack of face-to-face communication can really hurt the way we interact with people. We may not realize this at first, but it becomes apparent when we feel awkward trying to actually speak to someone. It increases antisocial tendencies because there is no longer direct communication with another person.
Another point is how addicted we have become to this social networking site. We wake up and check it like it’s a newspaper and keep checking it throughout the day to see what gossip there is to pick up on. People have begun to post their every step, from waking up in the morning until the time they go to bed, including pictures of every meal they have; I have actually caught myself almost posting pictures of my home cooked meals. There is even an option to “check into” places you visit so everyone knows where you are. Facebook is available on your phone so you can log in while away from the computer, feeding your addiction even more. It can really take over your life in a short matter of time.
I think the biggest, negative impact Facebook has on our lives is loss of privacy. For instance, if you do not set your profile to private, anybody has access to every piece of information you decide to share. Potential employers can easily search for you here and find all of your personal information, including some posts or pictures that may ruin your chances of getting a job. One negative post can affect the way people perceive you as a person. Even if you do set your profile to private, there are still ways people manage to see things you are doing on here. An example would be if a friend of yours “likes” a photo or status you have, it will notify their friends of this, therefore the privacy setting is overthrown. You have to be careful as to what you actually want to share for anybody to see.
Facebook is a wonderful place to keep in contact and share all your wonderful moments, but I also believe it is important to understand the negative impacts it can have on us. The traditional ways of communication are falling to the wayside, creating a culture of people who are almost afraid to interact with people. Your privacy and security are important, now more than ever, in this age of instant information. Most importantly, I think we need to remember to spend time with our family and friends outside of the internet and enjoy our time together.