The Effects of Using the Facebook
By Anne Gelene Tobias-Domangsang
"Think about what people are doing on Facebook today. They're keeping up with their friends and
family, but they're also building an image and identity for themselves, which in a sense is their brand.
They're connecting with the audience what they want to connect to. It's almost a disadvantage if you're
not in a now." -Mark Zuckerberg. With the advent and the continuous development of technology
comes the Internet and the emerging issues that it brings. According to the Internet World Statistics,
there are approximately 2,267,233,742 internet users worldwide in 2012. Today, it is no doubt that such
number has dramatically increased.
The purpose of the Internet has been changing from time to time. Decades ago, many people used the
Internet mainly to research and acquire relevant information hat could be valuable in their fields of
study and life endeavors. It has also been used to communicate with people. Today, however, many
people use the Internet as their main source of entertainment and socialization. You can even bet that
many of these Internet users only go online to check their Facebook accounts.
It is important to learn that the Statistics Portal reports 1.44 billion monthly active Facebook users
monthly as of the first quarter of 2015. Active users are defined as those have logged into Facebook
during the last 30 days. Interestingly, Facebook users 2008 did not even reach a hundred million. But in
the third quarter 2012, the number of active Facebook users skyrocketed and surpassed 1 billion.
Furthermore, as of that quarter, the social network had 1.25 billion active mobile users.
A question remains, however: what is really the impact of Facebook in our world today?
The Facebook can be used to connect with people. Probably, all of us have found friends and
acquaintances that we would like to reconnect with in the Facebook. This has been one of the fastest
way to chat and communicate with people all over the world. We can use this social network to invite
friends to an important event, inform people of significant news in our lives, and vice versa. This has also
been a very effective way to advertise business pursuits, look for job opportunities, validate the
credibility of a certain individual or organization, be informed about important world phenomenon,
search for great leisure places, find a great educational opportunity and many more.
However, if the Facebook, renders countless benefits, it may also cause danger to users who are not
cautious and alert. For example, adding strangers, fake accounts and untrustworthy acquaintances on
Facebook may cause threat on the individual and his or her family security. If not careful, one may also
be a victim of business and other Organizational scams. Other people may even believe on information
and news from Unreliable sources, and cause other people to be misled by sharing such information.
Bornography and other materials that are not appropriate for young people can be accessed easily.
Cyberbullying and persecution have caused many people pain cend suffering. Sometimes, opportunities
for genuine face-to-face interaction are sacrificed, and precious time is wasted.
Kimberly S. Young's research study entitled "Internet Addiction: A New Clinical Phenomenon and It's
Consequences" in 2013, tackles very critical issues that happen reality among Internet users, in which
she explains that the Internet has great effects, hot juilty among Internet users, in which but also to
family relationships) cyber affair Surprising problems among users emerged after conducting the study:
(1) cyber affair.The Facebook, users) employee internet abuse, Social media, specifically a great role in
such issues.
So, is the Facebook a blessing to the world of communications and social media? Or is it a cause for
worry among the guardians of societal ethics and morality? Is it a boon or a bane?
Well, as we reflect upon the impact of social media, it is important to remember that in the end, it is still
up us whether to use social media to our advantage or allow it to destroy us. The Facebook and other
social media can be very beneficial if used properly. It can help us connect with people and pursue great
opportunities. Pornography, cyberbullying, and other online scams will not be able to affect us if we do
not allow it to enter into our online lives. Because in the end, the nature of the internet is not really the
challenge-but the discipline of its users.
