Facebook; a word synonymous with the young technological socially advancing generation of this 21st Century, 500 million users, and all the time expanding, this site has become more than a social networking ground.
Facebook, it seems is no longer an escape from the stresses of reality, but has in fact become the reality for millions of teens worldwide.
The infusion of cyber space and reality has long been discussed, and as this technological era continues to grow, we are beginning to see the effects of this dangerous merging.
No longer is the internet merely an accessory to life, but in cases such as Facebook, it influences and has the potential to shape social life.
It is whether this growing social control of this site is beneficial or detrimental to this generation that must be called into question.
While potentially controlling, and socially influential, Facebook is not without its positives.
It connects people of whom would not otherwise pursue friendships, connecting family members abroad, such as in the case of myself and my sister, communicating to each other on the other side of the world, all from the comfort of home.
However, the overall social control, rather than alleviation of this site, generates a tool of which has more control of its user, than the user has of it.
The loss of privacy, the overwhelming addictive nature and the social pressures and requirements of Facebook lead to a raw personal message board, publically accessible to all, and permanently existent on the internet.
To be honest or even vindictive behind the shield of a screen is far easier than to speak in face, and in such terms of social liberation, younger more inexperienced users become manipulated.
On Facebook, one secret, if inadvertently posted by a friend, remarked on by a user, can instantly become the property and knowledge of every Facebook friend, within seconds.
It is this rapid distribution of personal data, the addictive and easily vindictive nature of the site, and the permanent existence and lack of control within the site’s settings and history that bring a simple networking site into unsteady ground.
The moment in which the escape from reality becomes reality itself, is the moment in which these sites go from fantastic, to futile.
Facebook, it seems is no longer an escape from the stresses of reality, but has in fact become the reality for millions of teens worldwide.
The infusion of cyber space and reality has long been discussed, and as this technological era continues to grow, we are beginning to see the effects of this dangerous merging.
No longer is the internet merely an accessory to life, but in cases such as Facebook, it influences and has the potential to shape social life.
It is whether this growing social control of this site is beneficial or detrimental to this generation that must be called into question.
While potentially controlling, and socially influential, Facebook is not without its positives.
It connects people of whom would not otherwise pursue friendships, connecting family members abroad, such as in the case of myself and my sister, communicating to each other on the other side of the world, all from the comfort of home.
However, the overall social control, rather than alleviation of this site, generates a tool of which has more control of its user, than the user has of it.
The loss of privacy, the overwhelming addictive nature and the social pressures and requirements of Facebook lead to a raw personal message board, publically accessible to all, and permanently existent on the internet.
To be honest or even vindictive behind the shield of a screen is far easier than to speak in face, and in such terms of social liberation, younger more inexperienced users become manipulated.
On Facebook, one secret, if inadvertently posted by a friend, remarked on by a user, can instantly become the property and knowledge of every Facebook friend, within seconds.
It is this rapid distribution of personal data, the addictive and easily vindictive nature of the site, and the permanent existence and lack of control within the site’s settings and history that bring a simple networking site into unsteady ground.
The moment in which the escape from reality becomes reality itself, is the moment in which these sites go from fantastic, to futile.
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