Facebook

January 14^th, 2012

　

　

The two articles that I read were based on Facebook. The first article, Facebook: Public Health Danger, highlights the danger of Facebook. It focuses on the point that Facebook makes its users think they are stars. Making them, in a sense, not in touch with reality. “They value acting, not actualizing” (Ablow, 2011). The article links problems such as narcissism and anxiety to the use of Facebook. This is understandable because Facebook is all about posting, friends, commenting, check out other friends profiles and status. These actions are all okay, how ever if it gets out of control Facebook can soon become an unhealthy socializing tool. If not kept in check Facebook can easily give a user false perceptions about themselves as well as others. This article states that using Facebook can actually change you as a person and make you develop certain negative personality traits. The author links Facebook and Twitter to cigarettes. The consequences of this new technology is unknown, however the author believes they may be serious. Then Ablow warns the reader that we should limit or Facebook use. I agree completely with what Albow is saying. I think that Facebook is a great tool that can help you stay connected and share things with friends and family members that you may not be able to see very often. However, if used incorrectly it can become a tool that hinders the user. I can definitely see how someone could become narcissistic after using Facebook, due to the fact that if you spend your whole time looking at your pictures, updating your profile and putting up statuses you may start to become self absorbed. I think that Facebook does give its users a false sense of importance. Not to say that individuals are important, because everyone is definitely important. However, some users tend to over share information and what they are doing to the point where their lives have no privacy.

The second article, Too much Facebook time may be unhealthy for kids. Addresses the same points that the first article did about face book and the negative effects it is having on kids that are still in school. However, this article also discusses how other types of social networking, such as texting, can have a negative effect on kids. Texting can not only psychologically effect a child, but also psychically. The article talked about one boy who developed carpal tunnel from too much texting. I agree with this article because as I said before, it’s good to be able to communicate with friends and family. However, these different types of technology can get easily out of hand if used in the wrong way or just over used in general. Parents should definitely monitor their child’s use of this technology and make sure that the child does not rely solely on technology as a form of communication and recreation.

Citations

Ablow, Keith. (2011). Facebook: Public Health Danger . Retrieved from https://angel.evangel.edu/Angel/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&W CU=CRSCNT&E NTRY_ID=31A38E4DEF0C4C76A50AE6D86D9D9001

Hernandez, Daniela. (2011). Too much Facebook time may be unhealthy for kids. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/06/news/la-heb-facebook- teens-20110806