Essay on Facebook: The Medium of Social Communication

Introduction

Among the speedy modes of communication, Facebook is a much-talked term all over the world. In the mess of multifarious media now Facebook is remark-able, no doubt. Facebook, now one of the unparalleled communication media of the scientific world, is lingering throughout almost all the countries as a popular social networking site. It functions as media via computer or sophisticated mobile phone. Facebook, as a quick, private, and time-saving connector, has become the most popular website to a gross portion of people, especially to the young generation. Man generally wants to stay close to his near and dear ones, and in this regard, Facebook is the best linker. Facebook is simply a social networking website, and its users join the network by signing up at the website www.facebook.com. Regarding communication, Facebook maintains sole privacy. For example, if one has not added a certain person as a friend, the person will not be able to view one’s profile. Each Facebook profile has a ‘wall’ where friends can post comments. Since the wall is viewable by all the user friends, wall postings are a public conversation.

History

The innovation of Facebook is an extraordinary contribution of an American citizen named Mark Zuckerberg. He founded it on February 4, 2004, with his college roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovic, and Chris Hughes. The website’s membership was first limited by the founders to Harvard students but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the levy League and Stanford University. Later it gradually added support of students at various other universities before opening to high school students and eventually to anyone aged 13 and over. Of course, the move of Facebook has not stopped here. It started to march from one place to another for its charismatic way of communication. However, the website has currently more than 800 million active users worldwide. According to Social Media Today, in April 2010, an estimated 41.6% of the US population use a Facebook account.

Uses of Facebook

The use of Facebook solely depends on its users. Now Facebook has spread out of its own geographic bound. There is a network of Facebook all over the world as almost all the countries, developed or undeveloped or developing, have come within the range of it. As of September 2011, Facebook has more than 800 million active users. The number of Facebook users is no less today. There are nearly 90.000 Facebook users in our country and 60% of them are aged between 18-24 years.

In September 2005, a high school version of Facebook was launched, which Zuckerberg called the next logical step. Then it was opened on September 26 to everyone of age 13 or over with a valid e-mail address. Multifarious movements, linked with the Internet, have been organized using Facebook. For example, the recent demonstrations and protests against the incumbent governments in Iran, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, etc. have been circulated through Facebook. Now the condition in Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, and Libya is somewhat calm, and we know this through Facebook as well. How the whole world knows the transition of power in France, Egypt and Greece are known to all Facebook users. All these events have helped increase the popularity of the website Facebook which is the most social networking site in several English-speaking countries including Canada, the UK, and the USA. Facebook, an essential tool for young adults to stay in contact with friends and family and to create a sense of community with their peers, is probably going to the door to almost all in the halfway of the present century.

New friends and new acquaintances are growing rapidly due to the integral use of Facebook. Reconnection with old friends has also increased for the use of Facebook. The use of any other communication media except Facebook has lessened with the emergence of Facebook. Nowadays, we see the rare use of e-mail or any other online social communication, and here the cause is also Facebooked. Chatting, image sharing, or video-sharing are needed for communication and facebook is helpful here. Respecting the building up of private relations, the contribution of Facebook is matchless. Given manifold communication opportunities, the craze for facebook among the general people is rising day by day.

Advantages of Facebook

The proverb goes on that everything has its merits and demerits. The day is meaningless without night and vice versa. Similarly, Facebook has both positive and negative impacts on various aspects of man’s life. It is a popular and powerful new way to interact and voice opinions. It has affected the social life and activity of people in various ways. For its availability on many mobile devices, it can easily affect society. Again, it allows users to continuously stay in touch with friends, relatives, and other acquaintances wherever they are in the world as long as there is access to the Internet. It can also unite people with common interests and friends. A man named John Watson got his lost daughter back after 20 years through the website Facebook.

Facebook launched a new portal for marketers and creative agencies to help them to develop brand promotions on Facebook in 2011. In 2010, an ‘influences summit’ was held and some business product advertising leaders joined there for their goods to be advertised through Facebook which has now been involved in campaigns for True Blood, American Idol, and Top Gear. In this way, as media Facebook has a positive impact on the business world.

Propaganda is a much-needed term used in political action where propagation is now launched through Facebook. Its role in the American political process was demonstrated in January 2008 just before the New Hampshire Primary. Then Facebook was in the ABC phase. But still, the debate between the Democratic and the Republican parties was published via Facebook. Not only this but many other debates are also held in places of the world and Facebook plays a vital role in the case of such debates. Frankly speaking, Facebook has extended the horizon of propagation throughout the world, and as a result, all sorts of news are spreading outside in a rapid sequence, and side by side with it, the number of know-nothings about the current affairs of the world is declining with the very passage of time.

Disadvantages of Facebook

Nothing is an unmixed blessing. Both sides of a thing cannot be top clean as everything has its dark side too. So, with some disadvantages, Facebook has been criticized in some countries of the world. Some users who are mainly out of self-control are badly affected by Facebook because they abuse it. Some users deliberately abuse it as well. The underaged users may use it in evil ways. Lots of youngsters, especially in the developed countries, involve in illicit affairs through Facebook connections which often are disclosed in the form of a fatalistic fate. Of course, some sound-minded lovers may be cheated because of the connection. Shoaib Malik, an ex-captain of the Pakistan National Cricket Team, was married to a fake beloved of India through a Facebook connection. Lots of youngsters of Bangladesh have gone and are going astray being cheated by Facebook affaire. This year many A+ holders in the SSC Examination are out of HSC final examination centers as they are frustrated now for being cheated. In this way, the number of dropouts is gradually increasing in our third-world country. For the reasons above Facebook has met with controversies and it has been blocked intermittently in several countries including the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Bangladesh. For containing anti-Islamic and religious discrimination, Facebook has been banned in some countries. It has also been banned at many workplaces to prevent employees from using it during work hours.

Conclusion

Everything has its merits and demerits. To say the truth, the day is meaningless without the presence of night and vice versa. In the same way, Facebook has both positive and negative impacts on various spheres in life. With some exceptions, Facebook is a part and parcel of modern civilization, no doubt. Despite some disadvantages, it is still getting demand and popularity among the young all over the universe. Irrespective of age, race, and country about 10.000 students are joining Facebook every day. But it will not do to forget that excess of anything is bad. Excess use of Facebook for a single body may bring noxious effects in his behaviorism and mannerism, and for this careful handling is a must about using Facebook. One more thing is that Facebook sometimes creates an environment of cultural assault which may degrade and demoralize the social values of the user societies. Of course, the exchange of culture becomes very easy because of Facebook, but the users should remain alert to the difference between cultural exchange and cultural assault. To discern such differences the users must be mature psychologically and spiritually. If it is possible, Facebook will be able to be in a top position in playing a pioneering role in the entire range of communication.

Essay on Facebook: The Medium of Social Communication

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