Facebook: positive or negative? Essay

There has been much debate on social media such as, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and others. However, is it technically Positive or Negative? There are many reports on Facebook being a vital object for teens today and there have been plenty of complaints about it as well. My stand on the matter is that Facebook is a vital part of many teens lives, and without it they wouldn’t have the interesting conversation they have nor, the best friends either, they wouldn’t even have the knowledge they consumed on Facebook as well. see more:negatives of social media There are copious amounts of research on the matter, from articles, to essays, to even online reports that give ample reason as to so. It is said by older people, who aren’t as involved in social media as younger people today that kids only pay attention to what’s in front of them, that they don’t care about anything what so ever. â€Å"Kids today, we’re telling you!-don’t read, don’t write, don’t care about anything father in front of them than their iPods† (Goldwasser 237) is it true? Teenagers I see today like to keep up to date with their friends and love ones, making sure they’re okay, making sure they’re not sad, or nothing bad is happening and even becoming closer to those who aren’t so close. For example, some people are becoming closer to their parent, than when they were younger thanks to Facebook. â€Å"Ms.Bomberg, the Cornell student, confesses an upside to her mother being on Facebook, ‘We’re closer now, for sure,’ she says. ‘She treats me more like a friend than she did before’ (White 520). Facebook has become a way for families to become closer, for friends to communicate and loose ties to become tighter. Ms.Bomberg is just one of many examples of family becoming closer. Though, there are things that Ms.Bomberg doesn’t want her mom to know but she most inevitably will find out because of pictures; pictures like her bear ponging posted on Facebook ‘My mother is now looking at pics of me bonging a bear’ White quotes on page 522. Through Facebook you open up your heart more and let people a little closer in you’re life, as Ms.Bomberg has with her mother. Facebook is also a good way to keep up with friends who you aren’t very close to, that you would most likely consider a †weak tie†(Thompson 529). However, those loose ties would inevitably help you in the long run. â€Å"Sociologists have long found that â€Å"weak ties† greatly expand your ability to solve problems. For example, if you’re looking for a job and ask your friends, they won’t have any leads that you don’t already have yourself. Remote acquaintances will be much more useful, because they’re farther afield, yet still socially intimate enough to want to help you out† (Thompson 529). Those â€Å"weak ties† come in handy, without Facebook you wouldn’t be able to keep them in contact; and those little things they might know that you don’t will remain undiscovered. Keeping people in contact is always great, they will come in handy one day, and they will jump to the chance to help you because people like to help and get involved and â€Å"want to help you out† (Thompson 529). It’s all how you use Facebook or any other social media. Some use it for negative reasons such as, gossip, and killing time while at work or school, others use it as a vital source of information. I always use my online use in a reliable manner; I constantly post my views on matters I read about online. My friends and I are always getting into small debates. Through these debates I view how my friends speak and what type of methods they use to win their point. I’ve notice the one’s using real hardcore evidence such as, history reference’s, pie charts and articles as their source people are more ample to agree with them. I also learn that if you simplify what you are saying people will feel more comfortable accepting what you have to say because they won’t view you as a threat, and will feel more comfortable around you. In addition Facebook helps teens to be more empathetic to their peers. For example in an online source it is said that â€Å"In one new survey of 1,200 teens and young adults, the more time spent on Facebook and instant messaging, the greater their online and real-world empathy, or ability to understand and relate to others’ feelings.†(Laino). Facebook is helping teens today to be more sympathetic to their others peers, actually caring for their friends. â€Å"I see a lot of kids reaching out to friends, showing a lot of caring, online. And that translates to offline,†(Laino). Sometimes Facebook is a great way to help teens to feel for their other peers more easily, and want to help. Without Facebook these teens would not care how their friends feel, and probably won’t be there to comfort them when needed. I have a friend who was going through a rough time not so long ago, without Facbook I wouldn’t have known what was wrong with him, and I wouldn’t have been able to be there for him. Facebook is also a great way to help teens express their feelings to the world. Some teens find it hard to talk about their feelings, their thoughts or how they feel; I know I do, and Facebook has become a way for one to do that for themselves. ’Facebook help teens to express who they are,’ Rosen says in Laino online article. Without Facebook or any other social media a lot of teens would have no source to express how they feel or what they think, and they would just hold it inside, which is not good. However, not only does Facebook help teens express themselves it also helps those few shy individuals come out of their shells. ‘Online social networking can also make it easier for shy kids and teens to socialize by reaching out to others from a smart device rather than in person’ Rosen says† (Laino). Facebook has become a way for shy individuals to spread their wings and come out of their shells, it makes it easier for them to communicate with others and find confidence in themselves. Social media has become a wide spread for people in a positive matter. In today’s society Facebook is becoming a sensation; imagine the education teens could acquire from online, if their professors used Facebook as an academic resource, they could achieve so much from online use, such as Facebook or any social media, â€Å"For instance, in such a space professors and students can participate in the sharing of knowledge, by posting articles (and responses to them), speaker events, lectures and personal experiences involving topics related to the course. When this happens, Facebook can be a boom to education, actively engaging students in the pursuit of knowledge. â€Å"(Andrews). If teachers used online resources, and articles to engage their student they would most likely get more attention and more feed back from them but also, their parents would be able to see what their children are learning and how they could take an active stand in their Childs education. Facebook could be a â€Å"boom to education† (Andrews) if they knew How to use it in the right manner to involve their students. For example, the teachers could post up current events on different matters of the world have the students write their views and what they think, they could have civil debates online concerning the matters to get the students more involved. The teachers could also post of pictures of different topics and have the students analyze it. There are so many things you could do online in an easy manner, and their parents would be able to watch over it as well. Though some people would say Facebook is bad for their children, and others would say it’s good for their children, I say it’s great for their children or any other teen or young adult. Facebook has become a way for people to communicate with one another from long distance, it has become a way for teens to communicate with their peers more easily, and it’s a way for teens to reach out to one another. Facebook is a huge impact on most people’s lives, it helps people learn from one another, it helps people be more empathetic and it helps socialize people that aren’t very social. Facebook or any other social media has help out teens and their family to become closer to one another, and create tighter bonds with different people.