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Facebook has done more harm than good. I joined it back in 2004 when there was no wall, tagged photos or the myriad of applications on everything ridiculous.
Facebook has since gotten senselessly competitive and largely meaningless in achieving real communications.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is “a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, families and coworkers.”
Let’s break this down.
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February 9, 2009 10:16 am
If you're looking at social media as quanifiable data than ALL social media is a popularity game, not just Facebook. On the other hand, if you find ways to make tools like Facebook an enhancement of your communcative lifestyle, then it actually is pretty valuable.
I'm a lot like you. I value real-world communications. I find tools like Facebook actually enhance some of my real communications because I have a lot more to talk about when I know what they're doing via status updates, photos, profile data, etc. I'm actually better prepared to communicate because of social media.
The real problem to me is people who use social media as a replacement rather than an enhancement. These people are doing the damage to themselves. You can't blame the technology.
February 9, 2009 11:09 am
I have no idea how many friends I have on Facebook. Too many, probably. I could look it up, obviously, but I don't really care.
Like any tool, there are all kinds of ways to use it. It's not a substitute for a real friendship or even conversation, but it's a handy shortcut for some things.
February 9, 2009 11:37 am
Yea, I agree with both of you, which is why even after my anger-driven blast for you to get off of facebook, I'm still not getting of. =P
Facebook is a great tool to reconnect with old friends, but not to be used to maintain any connections (it's too weak). And unfortunately many people, especially the "younger" crowd, tend to think Facebook can create friends.
Remember the old days when we use to chat and make friends with strangers in Australia when AOL Instant Messenger first got started (but before the creeps and sexual predators invaded)?
Facebook is sort of like aim chatting with random strangers, in a twisted way.
February 9, 2009 11:55 am
I agree about the coworkers and family, but I actually do use facebook wall posts, messages, and pictures to keep in touch with my best friends from college and high school. I'm studying abroad right now for an entire year, and my friends are very busy. Both they and I don't have time for long phone conversations, so we send each other messages about our lives on facebook instead. I find it great that I can see their pictures and they can see pictures of where I've traveled in Europe, so we can stay in touch even when we're so far apart.
February 9, 2009 12:20 pm
Hi Guys,
I agree with most of what's been said in defense of Facebook, I think like many other things on the internet, you get as much out of Facebook as what you put in and however you choose to use it. It's very useful for me personally because through an NGO I've been involved with on campus for 5 years (AIESEC) I've met a lot of really cool people in the many countries I've travelled to and the many conferences I've attended. Facebook gives me a convenient way to keep in touch with them. Even though the best friendships are like the ones you mentioned where one can go for coffee with your friend any time or just give them a call, unfortunately sometimes that's simply not possble and FB is the best aggregator I've thus far encountered.
Alex
February 9, 2009 12:54 pm
I un-joined Facebook a few months after joining, back as a freshman in college. I think I'm the better for it. I find that email works well for me. I just find those places generally overwhelming.
February 9, 2009 1:29 pm
I think the first couple comments nailed it when they said it shouldn't be a substitute for real-world communications -- social media and Facebook should only supplement your communication with people. When used properly Facebook is a great way to enhance your relationships with people.
I also have to second Alex about the distance thing -- when you have friends around the world that you don't get to see often, Facebook is an extremely useful tool for both keeping in touch and keeping up with what's going on in their lives. It'll never substitute face time with your friends, but it can help you keep in touch a whole lot better.
On the other hand, I do want to point out that Facebook lately is filled with crap. I hate getting all those application invites...
February 9, 2009 3:29 pm
Facebook is a lot like public transport, in that everyone complains about it and swears that they'll never use it again, but come Monday they're back on it, enjoying the benefits that it produces.
As it has quite rightly been pointed out, it should defnitely be used in tandem with 'real' communications, but it also a great tool for staying in touch with the comings and goings of global friendships circles. It also helped me to find a place to live when I first moved to London, so for that alone I won't rubbish it too much.
In agreement with Nisha about the excessive apps that keep spawning - but I guess someone uses them.
James
February 9, 2009 6:05 pm
Although I do use facebook frequently, I agree with the fact that it is a riskless communication tool. It is much easier to send someone a facebook inbox then to talk to someone on the phone or in person. Also all apps and news feeds that tell you everything and more about your friends are not necessary! This allows people to use facebok to snoop rather than as a form of communication.
On the other side, I have many friends studying abroad and it is a great way to keep in touch. It makes me feel connected to them when I can write them a note or see their pictures.
February 9, 2009 8:27 pm
After my twelfth invitation for "My Girls - Round of Cosmos" I was highly tempted to block all invitations to any future applications. I agree, Facebook has vortexes of time wasting and complete idiocy that allow my procrastinating mind far too much room to wander.
That being said, I do find many redeeming values to Facebook, even with its useless features. As a society, we no longer marry at the age of 18 and raise families on the land behind our parents farms. The children we played marbles with on the playground are no longer just across the town green. People from high school end up at colleges in different time zones and friends from college end up in foreign countries. As "the last single person" in my group of friends (actually, one other girl just broke up with her boyfriend) my time is consumed with spreadsheets and blogging rather than cribsheets and bottles. Facebook provides me the opportunity to keep in touch with these people whom I would otherwise lose in life and always think "I wonder what happened to..."
I will agree that I do have people on there I don't necessarily care to keep in touch with. And it is nice to know whether they are living or dead, but in truth I could care less about their status update in which the "LOLed SO much at the latest Gossip Girl." I chalk that up to being too nice, though...who can say ignore to someone who actually cares to know about what's going on with you. Or perhaps lost the Homecoming Queen vote at jolly old GHS and is now making up for the popularity by attempting quadruple digit friend counts.
February 11, 2009 1:25 pm
Facebook has been a great tool for me. I have close friends spread out all over the country-- these are real relationships in which we both invest. We visit each other, we make time for phone calls-- but in between those visits and phone calls, Facebook is a great way to feel like we're still involved in each other's lives. That way, when we DO see each other, we're not totally out of the loop.
I've also seen Facebook help budding friendships get off the ground. I meet someone once and we hit it off, but under normal circumstances, we'd never make the effort to reconnect. I mean, we only met once! But we become Facebook friends and we suddenly realize just how much we have in common. Facebook makes it easier to keep in touch, so we do. Facebook also makes it easy to make real life plans with new acquaintances-- I can drop a quick note on someone's wall-- "Getting together with friends tonight for drinks, wanna join?" The real relationship-building happens OFFLINE, but if it weren't for Facebook, some of those connections would never have happened in the first place.
So, in conclusion, Facebook doesn't replace real life interactions for me, but it definitely enhances them. I have no clue how many friends I have so it's never felt like a popularity contest for me and it has lessened the amount of "face time" I get with the people I love. I'm a fan!
February 11, 2009 1:27 pm
Oops-- typo! I said "it HAS lessened the amount of face time" but I meant "it has NOT"!
August 23, 2009 11:59 pm
I have to somewhat disagree about the blogger being against using family connections on FB. It all depends on the intent. I'm a genealogist and have found quite a few long-lost family members via FB. We've reconnected, and our family reunions grow larger as a result.
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UVA (Darden) MBA Admissions Deadlines for 2010-2011
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The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business recently published its application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics:
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