Positive and Negative Effects of Facebook

The internet is such an important invention and offers a ton of capabilities. There are hundreds of different social media sites that people use to express their feelings and occupy their time. The internet comes with many different affects and influences that can be positive or negative. Facebook is a very popular social media web site where a lot of different things are going on between different people all over the world. When so many people are using a site like Facebook almost all day long, it is going to have effects on the person using it.
      Keeping in touch with friends and family that may not live so close to you is a huge positive effect of Facebook. "Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with your family and friends that live far away. With instant messaging and even video chat, Facebook is the perfect environment to stay connected." (Barricella)A telephone may be an easy alternative but with Facebook you could be chatting with multiple people at once without taking up the phone line.  Another positive effect Facebook has on people is that if you aren’t friends with people who are going to act irresponsibly, then Facebook can be a great place to express yourself and your own opinions. You can get a lot of feedback and learn new things on Facebook by letting people comment and share their own stories and experiences. Also, "It is a lot harder to feel embarrassment over the internet than in person, so people find it easier to ‘vent’ their feelings on Facebook." (Barricella) This may not be true for a lot of people, mostly younger kids, but that is only because most of their ‘friends’ aren’t really friends and someone’s feelings can easily get hurt without them thinking about their actions or caring what they are saying.
      Facebook has a lot of fun and addicting capabilities that can be taken advantage of in a negative way, hurting the user’s health. Staying on Facebook for an excessive amount of time every day for weeks and months will have effects on the way you act and think. For responsible users, Facebook can have many positive effects but to someone who is careless and irresponsible, Facebook could change them into an unhappy and unhealthy human being. "It has been discovered that young adults that spend excessive amounts of time on Facebook show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies." (Rosen) Facebook can be very bad for younger children especially ones with less guidance. Facebook is extremely distracting to people of all ages but it is worse for younger kids because they need to be focused on school and their future. "Some studies suggest that so-called teenage ‘hyper-social networkers’ are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, drug use, fighting and promiscuity." (Rosen) The earlier kids learn and get into these things, the more difficult it will be to become successful in the future.
      I believe that as long as you aren’t trying to negatively express your feelings and try your best to be civil and responsible toward everyone else on Facebook then you will experience more positive than negative effects from it. Your friends have a lot to do with it as well. If you are friends with people who are going to be nasty toward you and treat you bad then it is going to take a toll on you mentally over time. If you are using Facebook the way it is supposed to be used then the positive effects will outweigh the negative effects.

Nick, Barricella. N.p.. Web. 20 Feb 2014. <http://nickbarricella.hubpages.com/hub/The-Positive-and-Negative-Effects-of-Facebook>.

Rosen, Larry. N.p.. Web. 20 Feb 2014. <http://www.lakesidecares.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=145:the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-effects-of-facebook&catid=44:blog&Itemid=154>. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

There are many Advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the use of the internet. One advantage of the internet could be that people have a quick and easy way to look up information. As long as you have internet access you can search anything you want. Another advantage would be that you can communicate with people easily through many different social media sites.  Transferring media is also an advantage of the internet. Families and friends can easily share photos or videos using the internet to stay in touch. The responsibility of internet users is important because things that can be advantages could also be disadvantages. When looking up information on the internet, people need to be sure that they are going to reliable sources. There is a lot of false information on the internet and it is the user’s responsibility to be able to tell the difference. Communication is a huge advantage but to an irresponsible person, it can be harmful to others. There are lots of teens that bully their peers over the internet, leading to some very negative outcomes. Irresponsible internet users can also use media sharing as a negative feature of the internet. Inappropriate pictures and videos are sent over the internet every day and are usually being seen by more people than expected.  DoSomething.org states that among 14 to 24 year olds who admit to sexting, 29 percent send these messages to people they have never met, but know from the Internet. Depending on the user, there are many different opinions of advantages and disadvantages of the internet, but everyone should try to us it as responsibly as possible.