Facebook is a social network that youth use to connect with other youth that is both beneficial and harmful to their social interaction and health. On facebook youth write all about their problems in school and with family to vent out how they feel. For example, one youth recently wrote to me in a private message that went into great detail how her friends approached her about things she finds wrong and how she should have handled it. Because we live three hours away and she really needed to talk to me, she used Facebook to reach out to me. For some friends, this is the only way to talk like our situation, because like us, they may have met at a church retreat or even at a purely social get together and went to keep in touch. Therefore, for some, this helps to release any negative feelings. Even so, being on Facebook for so long can cause depression for some youth. This is so, because of the fact that they may constantly talk about emotional pains that if they hadn’t talked about so many times would have healed. For other youth, Facebook is a social network to keep in contact with friends and family. When used for socializing, teens are not just spending hours on the computer, but instead are learning more about socializing and technology. When socializing, it is beneficial for youth, so that they can learn more about making friends and maintaining friendships, even over the internet. Of course, youth are not the only ones on social networking sites like Facebook. Ages ranging from pre-teen to all ages of adult are on Facebook, but everyone has a Facebook account for different reasons. Youth use it to be cool and chat with each other well into the night when they should be sleeping, because of the enjoyment of talking to friends. But no matter what the reason youth have, Facebook is great tool for youth. No matter what negative results may occur due to the use of Facebook by youth, the youth of not only the United States, but also other countries use Facebook to have social interaction and to talk to friends all over the world that they have made.
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I’m shocked to learn that Facebook can actually cause depression. At the same time I should have expected it seeing as that many people talk about their problems through their posts. I do agree that Facebook is a good tool for keeping in contact with family members that live far away. I use it to keep in touch with family members that live on Long Island and in Georgia. However, while it might teach socialization skills to teens, there’s no substitution for talking face to face. Overall, your article was very well written and I like how you compared the good and the bad of Facebook.
ReplyDeleteYou made a very good point when you were talking about how every age group has its own purpose for wanting to use Facebook. I definitely agree with that because my mom has a Facebook, and lots of other people her age do, but the only reason she has one is so she can keep in touch with family that don’t live nearby and her friends from high school who she never gets to see. I also found it interesting that Facebook can cause depression in teens because I have never heard that before. I do believe though that being on Facebook too much could hurt your social skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument that Facebook is beneficial to the youth,in terms of keeping in touch with friends that may not live close by. Facebook is a form of communication that although it may not be a face-to-face talk, you are capable of getting hold of people very quickly that you may need to talk to (with emergencies). However, when you discussed that it is a network to keep in touch with family, Facebook may be having a negative effect on the family because the time you use on facebook, could be used as time to spend with family.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I didn't make it as clear, but I meant family that is far away, like my family in Florida are my friends on facebook. My family here in Maryland are close by and we don't use facebook to communicate. But I do agree with you. using facebook with family very nearby can have negative effect.
ReplyDeleteI feel that facebook can be benifical to youth because they can keep intouch and talk to eachother quickly. The part that facebook takes alot away from is the social interaction when it comes to face to face communication. People get so wrapped up in using facebook and talking on the computer that it becomes awkward to talk face to face at times.
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