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Social Networking Sites like Facebook Made the World a Better Place
Appearing on the world stage in 2003, Facebook has revolutionized the average person’s social network into an unprecedented web of information available in the palm of a hand. With just a few clicks or taps on one’s mobile app, one can meet people, see friends from high school and even make contacts with potential business interests. Unfortunately, social networking sites like Facebook have not made the world a better place because it is a waste of time for the user. As time is important to people, it can be better spent doing productive things, beneficial for one’s life.
As the old adage goes, time is of the essence, and if it is not used wisely, the consequences are never good. Social networks have become more than just connections with people, they have accumulated add-ons like Farmville, Mafia Wars and other games in order to keep users entertained. In these games, the user plays for virtual money, often spending many hours each day building farms and collecting sheep and other animals. With millions of users signed-up for such add-ons, it is not hard to deduce that they are wasting millions of hours each day decorating farms and collecting garden tools. It is, however, true that if used right, the site can connect users with people of same interests, thus building a name for a person, if s/he is a writer for example. Nevertheless, a few possible connections with someone one may or may not know, are not enough to justify endless periods of brain-numbing activity, that lead one to a few more points and virtual coins on a virtual farm with virtual food and animals.
Farms and animals, however, are not the only roadblock for the progress of a society. With millions of people on-board, their pictures, in mostly public profiles are available for everyone to view. With the more attractive profiles getting most of the viewing, like before, countless hours are spent looking at pictures of total strangers posing for their perfect Myspace or Facebook photo. Of course, one can argue that this is just another leisure activity, in which people are just letting off some steam. It definitely could be helpful to get one’s mind off of a few things, however, like with anything else that’s addictive, it is hard to put the mouse down and not pay attention to the next hot guy or girl in the Friends list on someone’s page. But the friends are not the only issue, new forms of media have emerged, thus attracting more and more users.
The current situation has reached a point, where YouTube videos and other entertainment media are also connected to the social networks, which entices users to stay connected and online for greater periods of time. As the country faces an obesity epidemic, the chair in front of one’s computer, has replaced the couch, in a way, transforming the new user from a couch potato, into a slouched, pic-addicted imbecile, procrastinating and missing life as it passes him/her by.
Therefore, as opposed to going outside, enjoying sunshine and good weather, getting exercise and keeping the body and mind in shape, users are harming themselves with unergonomic positions, often lasting for hours. Of course, one can argue that people have found soul mates, long-lost relatives and friends they haven’t seen for years, which are all within themselves great, but it neglects the fact that for a few such cases, greater amounts of people are wasting time with the above-mentioned virtual activities.
For some, time is money, for others it has unfortunately become a commodity with advertising dollars and virtual world games clambering for it. The user of social networks has become a bastion for revenue for some, while s/he spends countless hours each day, playing virtual world games, looking at pictures as well as videos in cramped conditions inside a home. Instead of using their time to get fresh air, exercise or read a book, users waste it online. With only small numbers actually using these sites in a productive way like professional connections or finding long-lost friends or relatives, the social network experiment has not made the world a better place, on the contrary it has made it worse by stealing time from the users.
Made by
Me J
<3 J
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