Negative Effects Of Facebook Essay

Register to read the introduction… One of the benefits is connecting long-lost friends. A user can do a search for old friends from childhood or whenever and reconnect with them. If they live in the same area they could potentially get together and catch up. Another connection Facebook has is finding family members. Not just distant relatives but there have been cases where Amber Alerts were put on via Facebook and were successful. One of the reasons Facebook was created, other than connecting people, was for people to go on for their own pleasure. User’s need to have control over their time spent on Facebook so things like addiction and procrastination does not occur. There have not been any studies stating that Facebook is addicting and causes people to procrastinate. Therefore, people who stay on Facebook all day can only blame themselves and not Facebook. Although there are many issues regarding privacy on Facebook, it still can be considered private. People are in charge of what goes on their page. They make the choice to put personal information on the internet; the makers of Facebook do not force its users to put anything up. But with all that being said, the negative effects out-weigh the positive effects of …show more content…
Privacy issues also have affected millions over that last couple of years. When people sign up for Facebook they forget that what they put on the internet can be seen by everyone. In Clemmitt’s article, “Social Networking,” she tells us that sometimes personal information such as full names, e-mail addresses, and full birthdays is all it takes for someone to steal your identity (Clemmitt). Along with identity theft, the other privacy issue that has come about due to Facebook is the legal actions taken due to wall posts, pictures, or videos. One account was where a student in Pembroke Pines, Florida wrote on her wall about her teacher stating, “one of the worst teachers I’ve ever had” and invited her friends to share their dislike of the teacher on her page (Clemmitt). For this the student was suspended for three days and pulled out of her honor classes. Even though that one post was made outside of school and did not harm anyone consequences where taken into place. Facebook is like a trap—because it is on the internet that means that anyone can view it. In a perfect world, users should be able to write and post what they want on their own page without having to deal with getting in trouble. But because there is a fine line as to what is private on Facebook, users are being punished. According to Cliff Lampe, an assistant professor of telecommunications, information studies, and media at Michigan State