The benefits and negative effects of Facebook - Report Example

Facebook – Technical Report Executive summary The report is about Facebook as one of the major social networking software. The purpose of the report is to describe the effects of the use of Facebook globally mainly concentrating on the communication aspect as demonstrated by Facebook that it is now used a major communication tool. The effects of Facebook both positive and negative have been analysed in discussed in details. There has been a tremendous growth of Facebook users over the past five years. Many people now have access to Facebook, and they are using it as a communication tool and also to interact from different locations around the globe. Some of the uses of Facebook have been explained in this report in details. The report also explains the different social networking websites. The report then compares their functionalities with those of Facebook. Also, the differences between the different social networking websites and Facebook are identified and stated against each of the social networking website. The report further explains the context in which the social networks operate and the kind of users who make use of them. The report explains why the development of the social networking needs to be used and understood in our modern world. With the emergence of a number of social networks, there is a need to know which particular site is used for what purpose and which particular site to use for another purpose. The problems associated with having too many friends in Facebook have also been explained. It has been noted that, the use of Facebook has brought harm and benefit to society. Facebook users have been a target by criminals who obtain information about their whereabouts. Facebook has also been a challenge of handling the privacy issues. The benefits of Facebook can also be enjoyed by many since it has enabled the fast transfer of social information, sharing articles and updating on events. Table of Contents 1.0.Introduction 5 2.0.Discussion. 6 2.1.Positive effects. 6 2.2.Negative effects. 7 3.0.Difference between Facebook and the other social networking services. 8 4.0.The need to use and understand the development of social networking. 9 5.0.Drawbacks of making too many friends in Facebook. 9 6.0.Conclusion and Recommendations 10 7.0.References. 11 Appendix 11 1.0. Introduction Facebook is a networking service for the society to communicate together. In this website, we can register as users then we can add friends, photos and videos, share links and games and exchange comments and messages. It has many features that are released time to time such as how would you like to receive the notifications, voice and video calls and the timeline page feature (Kirkpatrick, 2011). Facebook is one of the major set of social networking software used today on our society. It became into existence in 2004. Three college students led by Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea of creating a platform in the form of a website where other students can network and communicate. The use of Facebook then expanded rapidly to the outside world (Kirkpatrick, 2011). Presently, Facebook is the major social networking site with more than 800 million users worldwide. Using Facebook, we can establish strong relationships with people who are a distant away. Also, it is now easy to find the information required from a friend or a relative. The information can be phone contacts, email, and location, understanding the relationship status and also viewing one’s photos. The message feature in Facebook is used to communicate with another person privately without the need of writing on his/her wall. The main use of Facebook is for communication. Facebook has enabled people from distant locations to interact with each other; it has brought together diverse communities around the globe by creating friendships and relationships. It has emerged to be one of the major element in our society today used for sharing information with the confidence of a near, individual relationship. 2.0. Discussion. Facebook has brought both positive and negative effects to the society today. Despite the benefits which has been realised from its use, it has also resulted into a good number of negative impacts on the users who are associated with it. Facebook has affected the society positively in the following ways; 2.1. Positive effects. First, Facebook has created a social awareness among the people around the globe by use of features which enable an individual to share information about a particular event. Users log into their accounts where they find updated news concerning the events which are happening around the globe. This form of interaction is shaping the lives of people in our society today (Haven, 2009). The aspect of common understanding concerning the emergence of a variety of news has been greatly promoted by use of Facebook and now people are well informed about our society’s issues. Second, it has created the feeling of not being lonely. The use of Facebook has promoted the culture of socializing with people from all walks of life and cultures. An individual’s profile in Facebook helps others to understand who the individual is and the location. Facebook provides choices where one can select from many people the specific individuals who he/she wants to be friends with and restricts the non friends’ individuals from viewing someone’s profile (Lecky-Thompson, 2009). Third, Facebook has provided a platform where several businesses and organization can advertise themselves. Facebook is a new kind of media which has been used to balance control between production and distribution of products associated with particular organizations to specific consumer. The cost of advertising through Facebook is also rather lower than those of traditional means (Haven, 2009). Also, Advertising through Facebook can reach several people, both old and young all over the world. 2.2. Negative effects. First, Facebook addiction among many people. The use of Facebook has hindered the objectives of young people especially students who spend most of their significant daily time in Facebook. Also, many employees while in their workplace spend a lot of time in Facebook hence resulting into a reduced output in the roles they are undertaking (Coles, 2012). As a result, several educational institutions and organizations have been forced to ban the use of Facebook within their vicinity. Other organizations have even employed the use of particular software to block the access into such sites like Facebook (Daily mail, 2012). Second, there is an increase of cyber stalking in our society today. An individual’s private detail can be used by another person with wrong intentions. A number of cases are happening where criminals use the personal details of the Facebook user from the profile in order for them to locate the location of the individual and commit crime (Raphael, 2010). Third, the much dependence of using Facebook as a form of technological communication tool has adversely affected the skills of social communication especially among the youths. The manner in which people communicated traditionally has changed. Many people have become anti-social due to them being engaged in the use of Facebook in most of their time (Carpenter, 2012). 3.0. Difference between Facebook and the other social networking services. There are other, several social networking software in the form of websites which are used similar to Facebook. However, they have slightly diverse goals than that of Facebook. The social networks include; LinkedIn which provides a way of connecting people particularly geared towards career development. Several people are using LinkedIn to hire or to get a new job. The social network can be used by one to get a recommendation from another individual so as to enable one to acquire a new job. It has also been used by employers to hire by use of the information contained in the individual’s profile (Abram, 2010). MySpace is provides a platform in which several individuals can be able to connect outside their current real-world experience. It was basically developed as a way in which local bands could market their music. Up to presently, the social network is still used for people to know about their favourite celebrities and the media in general. The design of the website is to enable majorly the much known people to attain a higher number of fans and also command a large audience. In most cases, it is used by people who want to connect with their preferred musicians (Abram, 2010). Twitter is another social networking site which enables users in real-time information sharing. The user is only restricted to a maximum of 140 characters on any post. There is a resemblance of between the Twitter and Facebook posts. But the main difference is that the Twitter Post is quite simple, restricted to a particular number of characters and concentrates on a single idea upon a specific time. With Twitter, the users can share the current news, share popular websites and provide opinions concerning the current social issues (Abram, 2010). 4.0. The need to use and understand the development of social networking. The use of social networking has enabled a variety of diverse groups of people from all corners of the world to interact and share ideas. The development of social networking has revolutionized the mode of communication and the rate on which people are interacting nowadays. Social networks need to be used to promote cultural interactions around the world (Pichereau, 2011). The main aspect, which is emphasized here, is that; social networking has made the world to be like a single village in which people can now exchange and share information more easily as compared to the previous times. Social networking can also enable us to comprehend who we are, and learn unique values. It promotes a sense of responsibility of one’s own thoughts and actions as expressed in an individual’s profile and also being open in expressing thoughts and random ideas. It can be easy to understand other, different people and determine how to connect with them. Social network users should understand what it really means to be connected. The network involves having to share ideas with different people. The connection can be used in fostering harmony and peace in the world. Social networks are meant for the good of the society; therefore, they should not be used to cause harm and for malicious activities. Social networking has greatly improved our lives and hence, its development should be promoted for the goodwill of the society. 5.0. Drawbacks of making too many friends in Facebook. Having a high number of friends in Facebook causes sharp feelings of unease and stress. The user is characterised of having a high level of anxiety. It makes an individual to be always in worry about what is happening if Facebook while logged out. The user gets anxious to know the kind of friends he/she is having and keeps adding more friends likely with a motive of just having too many friends. As a result of the anxiety, the user becomes less active in other activities because of much concentration in Facebook. In most cases, having too many friends does not mean that the individual knows them all. Therefore, the aspect of many people viewing someone’s information arises. This increases the probability of meeting scammers and criminals who can trick the user and cause harm. 6.0. Conclusion and Recommendations The benefits realised from the use of Facebook have been overwhelming and positive to the society. The positive impacts have contributed greatly in using the digital media as a form of communication. Facebook is a tool which has made our life to be better because of the various benefits it provides like sharing information concerning the occurrence of particular events all over the world. Therefore, the society should learn to make use of the social website wisely in order to gain from the rich applications it provides. That notwithstanding, we should be very careful when using Facebook. The information we provide via Facebook should be kept private and ensure that it is only viewed by the friends of an individual. Facebook users should take an action of ensuring that only those friends which one is sure about should be accepted. The benefits of social networking are meant to be more than criminal part of it. As users, we can eliminate the criminals associated with the use of Facebook and ensure that the site is used correctly for the well-being of the society. 7.0. References. Abram, C. (2010). Knowing the difference between Facebook and Other Social Sites. Retrieved on May 27th, 2012, from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knowing-the-difference-between-facebook-and-other-.html Coles, B. (2012). The negative effects of Facebook. Retrieved on May 27, 2012, from http://www.helium.com/items/2306125-what-is-bad-about-facebook Carpenter, C., J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behaviour. Daily mail. (2012). The Facebook fix: Are you an addict. Retrieved on May 27, 2012 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10804649 Haven, L. (2009). New Research Shows Facebooks Positive Impacts on Student Development May Far Outweigh Negative Results. Retrieved on May 27, 2012 from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/prweb2441564.htm Ian, M. (2007). Facebook. Kirkpatrick, D. (2011). The Facebook Effect: The Inside story of the company that is connecting the world. Simon & Schuster. Lecky-Thompson, G. (2009). Facebook: Good or bad communication. Retrieved on May 27, 2012 from http://suite101.com/article/facebook-good-or-bad-for-communication-a121387 Pichereau, C. (2011). A simple guide to Facebook and Social Networking. New York: Luminis Books. Raphael, A., B. (2010). The negative effects of Facebook. Retrieved on May 27, 2012 from http://www.helium.com/items/1854827-what-are-the-negative-effects-of-facebook Appendix Facebook addiction and strategies to quit Facebook users face a huge challenge of minimising the amount of time spent in Facebook every day. In order to evaluate the Facebook addiction of one’s self, the following is a list of questions which can be used to scale; Always. Often. Frequently. Occasionally. Rarely. After evaluating yourself against the above points, then you can give yourself a score according to where you lie. The higher the score, the more you are addicted to Facebook. If your score was 20-49, then you use Facebook rarely meaning that you are a below average user. Then you can keep surfing but ensure that you control yourself. If your score is 50-79, then you are a frequent or an occasional user. You should therefore consider the effects of Facebook addiction and control yourself. If you score is 80-100, the definitely are in Facebook often. The indication from this is addiction which might result into several problems in your lifestyle. You should then solve the problems immediately to avoid further effects. For this reason therefore, research has been conducted involving the users asking them to identify the situations and triggers which makes them spend much time in Facebook and then get a strategies and ways of reducing the addiction. The figure below shows the common situations and triggers, and the mechanisms a person addicted to Facebook may use. Read More