Is Facebook an Asset to Society?

¶ … Asset to Society?

In February 2014, Facebook will be celebrating ten years of having connected people worldwide. By then, it is expected that the number of users benefiting from its system would increase beyond today's point of over 1.15 billion. Of this number, quite a substantial percentage is occupied by profiles belonging to companies, public figures, representatives, etc. To put it otherwise, Facebook seems to have become the engine to which most individuals relate to one way or another. While it is often referred to as a social network, the service does not actually provide the continuity that socializing, in its intrinsic terminology, attains. However, certain features do become helpful tools in providing relevant information and bringing people together for a specific purpose. For example, an organization fighting to raise awareness in regards to a specific cause, like cancer, can increase its odds of achieving success by using the hashtag technique to link together topical posts. Likewise, Facebook can serve as a powerful instrument for educational support for anyone interested, from students, to teachers, librarians, etc. The flow of information on this specific social network is likely to keep people updated more so than they would be otherwise using other sources. This is to say that Facebook has gone beyond its initial step of easing communication between friends, family, and strangers separated by distance and has become an influent economical factor. It was noted in 2012 that, for Europe, a €15.3 billion value had been added to the economy due to Facebook supporting employment, advertising, business markets, etc. (Allan, Facebook Brussels) Thus, what this particular social network has managed to achieve is not an economy in itself but rather has worked to make the rest of the economy more productive. But it does not stop there. Politicians use Facebook as means to create and nurture a bonding relationship with supporters while they can also advertise any of their initiatives. In fact, the network has influenced politics in the past and is working on new developments to extend its influence by creating such apps as "MyVote" and ?I'm Voting, ? each with affiliated partnerships. Thus, politics becomes more accessible while politicians and survey analysts work to assess target voters more effectively. While there is no denying that Facebook has had positive impacts on society, downsides to its existence are also evident. A survey posted on a debate website has indicated that a 47 percentage of people participating in the survey consider that social networking sites are not beneficial due to various different reasons. Indeed, one of the most controversial aspects of Facebook is that it exposes users to exploitation by either regular citizens or corporations and government. In this respects, Facebook seems to have convinced people worldwide to willingly give away personal information. Moreover, information posted on different pages can serve companies' financial interests, for example, raising rates (ConsumerReports.org, 2012). Privacy is more so endangered while it has been jeopardized online because it is known that information posted on web pages can easily fall into the right hands and create a negative domino effect. Furthermore, what Facebook is doing is that it restructures the norms of healthy socialization which we all know is bound to happen face-to-face. In this respect, Facebook has created a world within a world where communication happens on different levels and can lead to loss of healthy social skills if one becomes addictive.