Change in Communication by Facebook

Jourdyn Hunsaker
Manuel Perez Tejada
ENG 1101-J1
8 Sept. 2008

Change in Communication by Facebook

About sixty-two million people use it; it is the second most popular pastime among college students; about one-and-a-half million photos are uploaded on it each day; it has more users than all the world's major on line dating sites combined: it is Facebook (Patterson). Over the past couple of years, Facebook has taken over and changed the lives of millions of people. It is a new way to communicate, share, keep in contact, and meet new people. I know that this time two years ago, the words “I'll facebook you” were not a part of my vocabulary, but it has taken over. It is because Facebook is an easier way of communication. It is just like talking on the phone, or emailing, but easier. Despite some of the bad press it gets for being a social hindrance, Facebook is a beneficial and entertaining aspect of life that has changed the way the world communicates.

Facebook has been a blessing to me. The summer before my senior year of high school, I moved eight hundred miles away from home, and I was able to easily keep in contact with all my friends in Missouri. It also helped smooth the transition into college. Facebook was an easy way to get to meet other students. I met kids who were going to be living in my building, I met people who were going to be a new kid in band just like me, and I met other students who wanted to do the same things in college that I wanted to do. It eased some of the stress that I had. Facebook is my favorite way to share photos-it is so much easier than making cds for people, or having extra copies printed. If I want to share a short message, it is much easier than calling. Most recently, I have been able to easily and quickly update all my friends about the Georgia Tech Women's Rugby game against UGA. With the creation of groups and events, it is so easy to get announcements out. Facebook is just an example of how the world is changing: communication is becoming cyber.

Like most popular things, Facebook has attracted negativity. It is argued that Facebook is just a transfer of couch potatoes to PC potatoes. It is an outlet for the many homework procrastinators out there. It is a threat to security. And more seriously, it is a development of an unhealthy obsession with fake relationships. Making friends, and creating and maintaining relationships, is a lot harder than turning on the computer and logging onto Facebook, and sociologists and other experts worry that people will not be able to realize that (Patterson). These arguments are good points and concerns to bring up, and though there may be more truth to the procrastination part than we like to admit, they are blown out of proportion. As for security, no one is forced to share any information that they do not want to, and users can control who can see what on their profiles. As for relationships, facebook is a great way to foster already existing relationships. Meeting strangers is not a popular thing to do on facebook; most everyone I know only accepts friend requests from people they know. Facebook is not a relationship itself, it is just a means of communication.

Facebook may have started off just for fun and entertainment, but now it is an essential part of life. Everyone, from young and old, is using it as a new means of communication. Facebook is an example of how our way of life is becoming more cyber. Everything is done on line now, and embracing Facebook is embracing that fact. Arguing about the relevance of Facebook is just an act of fighting this change in our society. Facebook is a simple (and fun) means of communication with which the world has absolutely fallen in love.















WORKS CITED

Patterson, Bryan. “Facing up to the Future How Cyber Social Networking Site Facebook has Taken the World by Storm.” Sunday Herald Sun. 17 Feb. 2008: 88. LexisNexis Academic. Georgia Institute of Technology Lib., Atlanta, GA. 1 Sept. 2008 .