The Tri-Lite

Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Julie Ivers

Facebook . . .it's become a household term. Young and older adults, alike, have flocked to the social networking site. Millions of people use Facebook everyday. They have the chance to keep up with friends, co-workers, and classmates; upload an unlimited amount of photographs; share links; and learn more about the people they meet and friend online. Founded in February 4, 2004, the company hopes to give "people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." But, is that what Facebook is really doing?

Facebook has transformed the means of communication and social values. It has made keeping in touch so easy, that even older adults can use it! With Facebook, other accounts online are not needed; Facebook has e-mail, instant messenger, link sharing, photo uploading capabilities, and so much more is available to every user, for free!! A user can extend all his or her personal life to the world! Friends or strangers can view your profile, see photos and comment on them, write on the "wall," and catch up on any new status updates. For those who like their privacy, there are settings to hide your information from the wide-eyed world, maybe to certain networks or friend groups. You get all the gossip of the day right on your homepage! What more could you ask for?

Unfortunately, critics have made arguments that Facebook has created a society where personal communication does not exist. But, is that really true? Yes, when the school year reconvenes from winter break, and your classmates ask one another what he or she did, they probably already know about the skiing trip from your status updates and even saw the pictures to prove it! If anything, Facebook allows users to find out small tidbits about "friends," which allows others to have conversation starter points to use while in class, at work, or even at the mall. It allows that shy student to gain more confidence when working with their peers on that group project. Facebook helps students keep in touch as well. Have a question about a project, and haven't had a chance yet to exchange phone numbers? Chances are, they have a Facebook account.

Since joining the Facebook community my freshman year, logging on and checking on everyone's updates has become a daily routine. I've found 276 people that I personally know (I don't add friends or friends or random people). My friends include college classmates and co-workers, high school, and even grade school classmates that I haven't seen or heard from for years. I've become friends with friends' parents and previous teachers. I've found out more information about these people then I even thought possible. I thought after graduation, unless we exchanged e-mail addresses and actually kept in contact with them, I would never hear from anyone again, other than the possible, random meetings in local stores.

Through Facebook, I've learned where my peers are attending school and their majors. I've actually just been informed that a good friend from high school is expecting her first daughter in July. We've been out of contact for some time now, and Facebook has updated each of us on the other's life. The whole concept of Facebook has made it easy to communicate with everyone from your past and present, which is not as bad as people make it seem. Facebook is a useful tool, as long as one uses common sense when using it.

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