Fact: there are more people in Facebook than there were on planet 200 years ago.
Photo from Andrew Feinberg’s flickr
Why You Have Facebook
There are one billion Facebook accounts. While the main use of the social networking site was to ‘connect’, they have seduced us to keep coming back more than once a day. The company itself reported that more the 50% of Facebook active users log in daily. ‘Connect’ is a broad vision, but there are more specific reasons why we keep on letting Facebook trick us to burn something we never know how much we have, time.
1. Need to be social
We are indeed social beings. From the very start of human existence, we long for involvement. We wanted to be part of a group or conversation. And it seems like everybody has Facebook so you don’t want to be left behind.
2. Ease of chat communication
Facebook poses an easy reach of communication. But if Facebook is the easiest and the best mean of communicating is highly debatable. For instance, Facebook’s Events Invitation is so cheap, because most of the time you just invite people without thinking. It is the same way with Birthday Greetings – a thing that became phenomenal and mandatory it almost make every ‘Happy Birthday’ greetings meaningless.
3. Convenience of sharing photos
To share is also an innate urge of humans. We wanted to share photos to those people important to us and who cares about us. It is convenient to do it on Facebook rather than, lets say, an email. But the catch? Majority of your friends list do not care about the photos you upload, especially the lunch you ate or the new planner you’ve got.
4. FB Games
Ah, the era of online gaming. This time, you don’t have to play alone but you can play against your friends or a stranger. The Tetris trend was revived. But for a gamer such as myself, this is not quality gaming worth spending hours everyday.
Why You Can Quit
There’s no argument that Facebook has positive offerings. I just mentioned 4 reasons why we use Facebook; and at some level, I admit, that Facebook can be an ease. But phone and email can already do the ‘connect’ that Facebook is dispensing; and more so was natural and sterling Face-to-Face Communication. We can quit Facebook without losing something substantial.
1. Takes Time
I couldn’t stress enough that Facebook is a waste of our valuable time. It can be a distraction. Talk about that annoying applications, like ‘What is your superhero name’, ‘I found out the cause of my death. What about you?’, ‘Today’s Horoscope’ and many more of naive irrelevance. I know it is fun at first, but now it’s just tiring and rubbish.
2. Promotes Narcissism
I’m wet! Just took a bath
Yummy, lunch for me.
My dog just barfed!
Hair is messy, embarrassing!!
Facebook became a home for useless and senseless updates. These updates only feed the desire to attract attention, which may be a pitiful attempt to improve self-image.
3. Promotes Insecurity
Contrary to its purpose, it drives you away from your friends. It keeps you and your friend separated; secluded from each other by knowing activities they have done without you and your knowledge. Since most in friend list are acquaintances, the site has a low real friend ratio.
4. Unprecedented Effects
- Happy photos in Facebook is psychologically proven to have made people sad.
- Sometimes I just find it funny when I see a comment with a mandatory but inappropriate HAHA/LOL in the end. The use of LOL and emoticons is a masculinity problem.
- Instant Messaging (IM), such as omg, wtf, haha, lol, y?, u r, trueeee, yea?! and many more are “Linguistic Ruin”. The study of Tagliamonte and Denis proves that IM leads to “breakdown in the English Language”, impairing one’s grammar and spelling skills.
- After compiling materials from American Psychological Association, Techowiz.com verified that FB can harness Narcissistic tendencies as well as anxiety and depression among other psychological disorders. It can also distract children from studying leading to lower grades.
Why are you in Facebook? Why aren’t you in Facebook?
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Facebook: Friends’ Happy Pictures Make You Sad?; ABC News
Linguistic Ruin? LOL! Instant Messaging and Teen Language; University of Toronto
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Psychological Study Highlights Negative Impact of Facebook on Teenagers; Techowiz
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