Potential Benefits of Using Facebook - Case Study Example

Facebook The universe today has continued to experience major development in terms of technology and infrastructure. As a result, new tools or platforms have been discovered with an aim to connect individuals all around the world with just a simple registration on websites for an account. Many social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Twitter, Skype, Instagram, Google plus as well as Facebook have been created with an objective to enhance networking. The universe, on the other hand, has developed a soft heart for the innovation that has seen Facebook expand from a tiny site into a global figure in just a span of six years. On a more specific sense, Facebook has enjoyed a dramatic growth in which it has increased its user base from just a few thousand to more than a billion users. As a matter of fact, Facebook is still on its way to the top despite much competition from other platforms such as Twitter, snap chat or Instagram (Houghton &Joinson, 2010). For a large number of people, Facebook has developed into an important part of their daily lives. A significant portion of the universe open their Facebook accounts to post pictures, meet new friends, gain information on current trends or even post a simple status informing their loved ones of their new experiences. The social site has helped a considerable number of people and companies to create a personal brand. The website also observes that people get entertained online through enabling sharing of videos as well as photographs. The site accommodates a large number of people regardless of their geographical regions. Through the inclusion of various language options such as Spanish and Portuguese, the site has continued to enjoy further success as language is eliminated as a potential barrier. To my surprise, I came across the Facebook translation feature that enables individuals to connect with other Facebook users who originate from other parts of the world. Regardless of Facebook being seen as a key platform for communication, it incorporates a wide range of people as seen in the previous statement. These individuals have values that are different from one another, and therefore cases of cyberbullying may be rampant as some of the users find other customs uncouth. At this point, I feel that the ability of Facebook to connect these people is more important regardless of the cyber bullying accompanied to it. Cyberbullying is, however, an uncouth practice that undermines the use of Facebook and therefore something needs to be done to correct it (Sveningsson, 2014). With the developments in the world, the financial crises, as well as the dying need to meet the needs of inflation, any activities that are exhaustive with no or little pay, are usually subjected to heavy criticism. A large number of people have come up with articles or essays through which they express their hatred for Facebook as being a total waste of precious time. Most of these assumptions are developed around the fact that people spend most of their time checking the website. Some state that Facebook users check their accounts for thirty minutes in the morning, another half an hour during lunch hour and a further thirty minutes before they go to bed. Those who are against the website believe that it handles distractions in the younger generation at work especially in this age of free Wi-Fi networks in business organizations. Major organizations join Facebook for a taste of the jackpot through which they can boost their sales as well as promote their products and services. Most of the work to be carried out on the platform is therefore left to the hands of designated younger individuals who have a better knowledge of attending to the site. It is therefore not appropriate to state that Facebook might handle distractions in this setting as serving members of the public is every company’s number one objective. The only scenario where Facebook could be responsible for distraction is in teenagers where they might develop too much enthusiasm in the site and forget about their other chores (Pechrova, Lohr&Havliek (2015). There is much criticism on the mode of communication that is facilitated by Facebook. These critics argue that regardless of Facebook’s communication being similar to other venues of communication, the medium is marred by some flaws. These flaws are directly related to the ephemeral nature of Facebook. They claim that unlike phone calls or text messages that can be deleted completely by the communicating parties, communication on Facebook cannot be gotten rid of that easily. However costly it might be, queer individuals such as hackers can gain access to individuals accounts or the website’s servers and retrieve the deleted messages. In a more appropriate context, messages that might seem to be done away with today or deleted can be easily recovered tomorrow. In agreement with this argument, I feel that the communication strategy deployed by Facebook might deserve such criticism. For example, the website cannot be used by high-ranking individuals of the government to pass highly confidential data due to the risk of hackers retrieving the information. Facebook is, therefore, a good communication medium for the younger generation or individuals who do not require too much privacy (Houghton &Joinson, 2010). Another group of People claim that Facebook is an important tool that enables us to achieve tremendous progress in terms of communication and interaction. Such people state that Facebook is a free social media platform that offers one of the best platforms for communication with different parties regardless of the geographical distance. These type of individuals support their argument by stating that one can make a video call, upload photos, and videos or send messages to distant areas of the world. Supporters of this argument claim that it is of great importance to note that all these activities are achieved without the use of any payments. In my experience, I have come across some people on Facebook who complains that their photos have been accessed by unknown individuals who end up using them for malicious practices and mockery. Other groups of people in support of the social media platform claim that Facebook is an important tool that enhances better integration and interaction. The website gives more people a chance to learn the cultures, customs, values and traditions of other individuals who originate from various countries all around the world. In fact, Facebook is seen as a pen-pal service for the 21st century in which users do not have to toil tooth and nail to send or receive their messages. Facebook is seen as a way through which the distance between two geographical places is made alive. Some proposers for this argument support their theory by stating that some of the long distance relationships usually end up in marriage. I believe that better integration in the world is the dream of every individual. It is of great importance to come across a person from Europe or Asia while seated from the comfort of your home. What I don’t believe in is the safety measures entitled to this integration that is sourced from Facebook. For example, one might be asked to meet a person who they may have never met before and cases of kidnapping might occur. Also through this interaction, one may exchange vital information including their bank accounts or email passwords to the strangers who end up hacking into these accounts. It is, therefore, important to re-visit the area of safety accompanying this form of interaction (Sveningsson, 2014). I feel that the argument concerning wastage of time by Facebook users is quite mistaken. For a Facebook user to log into their account, they are led by an individual drive such as entertainment or a need to obtain information. With the involvement of business companies in this websites, it is of a greater chance that job opportunities might exist online thus the need to pay a visit to the site in search for a job. At this moment, it is wrong to state that Facebook is a site that results in wastage of precious time (Robinson et al., 2015). Another argument usually brought up concerning Facebook is that it is an efficient tool that can be used to find old friends as well as keeping the old relationships alive. Individuals who support this argument claim that whenever friends become separated let us say by geographical distance or the demands of their jobs, it usually becomes very difficult to hold healthy communication with them. Facebook is therefore seen to be of great importance as unit gives a platform in which friends can pass information to one another in a rather simple process. The website, therefore, ensures that friends are updated on what their mates are looking forward to doing. It is a joy seeing photos of your friends from different parts of the world. This aspect of meeting old friends online might bring up the worry of time wastage in which you spend a lot of your time having a conversation with the friends (Goodmon et al., 2014). I have been using Facebook since my younger days, and I feel that the argument of Facebook being totally free is quite a lie. First, to gain access to the website, you have to subscribe to an internet connection that needs the use of money to get a subscription. Also to these arguments, another group of people believe that Facebook is one of the cheapest media through which people can share their feelings. Members of Facebook in support of this argument assume that it is of much help to post their achievements on the site to obtain an appreciation of its making. Others believe that in times of sorrow such as national tragedies or even the loss of a loved one, Facebook acts as a vital platform through which they can obtain support from friends who feel the urge to show some generosity or kindness. Regardless of how sharing your feelings to a platform full of strangers might seem accommodating, it is quite disturbing when people share their innermost secrets online, a trend that might be seen as a nuisance (Coustasse& Slack, 2013). Another common argument raised by various parties is that Facebook has privacy settings that are of great and sound quality. These privacy settings are believed to be flexible as they allow the Facebook users to choose the level of privacy that they are in need of. However, Facebook does not enable people to protect every single bit of their information online such as email accounts or photographs. As a result, stalkers always take advantage of this aspect (Paradise & Sullivan 2012). Another common argument is that Facebook is an important tool that can be used to attain promotional success. Supporters of this argument claim that the fan pages on Facebook, events as well as groups are getting more popular on a daily basis. Others claim that major business organizations have discovered this secret and, as a result, they have ended up opening Facebook fan pages. Other organizations have also invested heavily on Facebook to rip the fruits of wider customer coverage thus propagating the success of their companies. Through the use of Facebook groups, users are enabled to come up with groups in which they can add all their close friends. After this step, each of the friends can get involved in a form of a discussion talk in which they can share their feelings and stories with a group of friends who are involved in a conversation. These groups are kept private in a way that only the embers who are of interest to the user gain access to the private group (Pechrova, Lohr, &Havliek, 2015). Another group of Facebook users state that the website has come up with an email service just like yahoo or google thus enabling users to receive or send email messages within or outside the scope of the website. Last but not least, people state that Facebook can be used as a platform for students to study or discuss assignments through the Facebook groups provided. Other important dates such as exam dates can also be passed on to such groups. In conclusion, Facebook comes with its benefits and disadvantages that might have adverse effects on the innocent Facebook user if not well taken care of. The website is prone to stalkers and hackers who have turned every single disadvantage of the website to their advantage. References Paradise, A., & Sullivan, M. (2012). (In)Visible Threats? The Third-Person Effect in Perceptions of the Influence of Facebook. Cyber psychology, Behavior& Social Networking, 15(1), 55-60. doi:10.1089/cyber.2011.0054 Goodmon, L. B., Smith, P. L., Ivancevich, D., & Lundberg, S. (2014). Actions Speak Louder than Personality: Effects of Facebook Content on Personality Perceptions. North American Journal Of Psychology, 16(1), 105-119. Coustasse, A., & Slack, C. (2013). Potential Benefits Of Using Facebook In The Healthcare Industry: A Literature Review. Insights To A Changing World Journal, 2013(1), 41-52. ROBINSON, J., RODRIGUES, M., FISHER, S., BAILEY, E., & HERRMAN, H. (2015). Social media and suicide prevention: findings from a stakeholder survey. Shanghai Archives Of Psychiatry, 27(1), 27-35. doi:10.11919/j.issn.1002-0829.214133 Houghton, D., &Joinson, A. (2010). Privacy, social network sites, and social relations. Journal Of Technology In Human Services, 28(1-2), 74-94. Pechrova, M., Lohr, V., &Havliek, Z. (2015). Social Media for Organic Products Promotion. Agris On-Line Papers In Economics & Informatics, 7(1), 41-50. Sveningsson, M. (2014). "I dont like it and I think its useless, people discussing politics on Facebook": Young Swedes understandings of social media use for political discussion. Cyberpsychology, 8(3), 106-120. doi:10.5817/CP2014-3-8 Read More