The Power of Social Media: Facebook

How many times a day do you check your Facebook page? Do you even remember life before this site was around? Even if you are not a member of Facebook, you cannot deny that it has become an addiction and a common daily habit for many of the people in our lives.

When Facebook first came around in 2004, it was open only to certain college campuses. By 2006, it was opened up to every high school aged student. Now, anyone from your little brother to your dog can have an account. Not only has Facebook become a daily routine to check but now we can check it anytime, anywhere, on our smart phones and tablets just in case we didn’t think we were connected enough!

When Facebook started, it was to keep in touch with your college and high school friends. That was the idea at least.  Now, people are using it for finding lost friends, spouses, and family members. The positive impact of Facebook seemed endless until people started arguing that the constant connection 24/7 could cause problems with actual face-to-face interactions. It also became an easy way for people to mislead one another about who we actually are in “real” life. You can manipulate your profile in any way you would like in order to seem appealing to your chosen audience.

Facebook has also caused a problem when people are trying to land jobs and get into colleges. Many people post inappropriate images, quotes, and statuses and they don’t realize who is reading it, or who could be potentially reading it. Now, employers are almost always checking Facebook and other social networking sites before hiring.

Facebook has also become a way for businesses to advertise and join in on this social media boom. Businesses often use Facebook to get noticed in the public by maintaining an image of being hip to what their customers are interested in. Many people run contests and try to see how many “likes” they can get in a day.

With the endless possibilities of Facebook, one can’t help but think when will this trend come to an end? Well, it seems with the addition of games, marketing, and much more on this site, the end doesn’t seem near!

Do you think Facebook has become a problem to the people around you?Tweet