Not such a good thing (facebook.com)

Member Name: CTVicky

Product:	facebook.com
Date:	26/08/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get in touch with long-lost friends, a window to the world, fun

Disadvantages: Has a "keeping-up-with-the-Jone ses" feel to it, bothersome applications, quite cold

I thought I would add my voice to the hundreds on here!

For those that don't already know, Facebook is what advertising agencies like to call a "social networking" website.

It was originally set up in America for Harvard University, by one of its students. Its primary aim was to connect students and graduates over the internet. A while afterwards it became used nationwide, and shortly after that it became a global phenomenon.

It brings in revenue through hosting subtle advertisements on its pages.

Joe Bloggs might use Facebook to trace old friends, to contact existing ones, to play games or "applications" - as Facebook likes to call them - , to let friends know what he's doing right now or to make new friends by having a profile stating his name, his interests or where he works.

It's easy for people accustomed to using computers to set up. You just type in your name, e-mail address and a password and you're well away.

That's the straightforward side of it.

There is, however, a murky underbelly to Facebook, which you may have read about in the newspapers.

If you join Facebook, even if you set your profile to 'Friends Only', your name and friends' names will appear on search engine results when typed in; taking you to your Facebook profile. It's best to set your profile to the strictest privacy levels.

That's a general problem with Facebook. I, however, have lots of problems with it, which I shall list:

1. Applications

There are literally hundreds of applications on Facebook. If you want to use one you are almost forced to send a request to your friends for them to use it too. I get bombarded daily with requests to use these often pointless applications. Not only are they pointless, they can be quite sinister; for example; the "Are YOU Trustworthy" application asks you to choose between sets of two friends, who is more trustworthy. I logged on one Monday morning after having a panic attack the previous night, to discover that "I would steal candy from a baby". I have reported the application to Facebook. I don't care if it's just a bit of fun, I did NOT need to see that!

2. People don't just use it to interact with their friends

People also use it to be nosey. I will hold my hands up and admit that I've done it. People type in the name of someone they hated at school in the hope of finding they are unemployed, single and hopefully have very few friends.

3. Too much information

Sometimes there are things people will put about themselves on Facebook that certain circles of friends don't need to know; like how depressed they are, what they had for breakfast, the ins-and-outs of their relationship break-up. People need to be more aware of who can see their profile and who they would not want to know certain things about them. People have got sacked from jobs because they complained about their boss on Facebook, forgetting that they added them they day before. Google this if you don't believe me.

4. My life is better than yours

I might be in a minority here but I personally find Facebook quite depressing a lot of the time. Photo albums that your friends have uploaded come up on your Facebook home page automatically and you are treated to snaps of their fabulous holiday in the Caribbean; pictures of them meeting celebrities, their big fat wedding, their new baby, their new car, their picture-perfect Christmas, just to remind you, in case you'd forgotten, that your life sucks. Some people feel the need to upload photographs of every little interesting thing that happens in their life, or to constantly update us on their "fabulosity" via the status update system. It's easy to feel like your life isn't that great when you yourself haven't got all these amazing photographs, even if you have done some fun things recently. I get the feeling that some people just use Facebook to show off. It's quite sad if they feel they have to do that.

5. Impersonal

Okay, I'm twenty-three at the time of writing this, and I don't want to come off sounding like an old lady, but what happened to the old-fashioned 'phone call, or a letter? Chatting to someone on Facebook feels very cold and sterile to me. It's much nicer to write or receive a letter, or to talk to someone on the telephone. I fear that the danger is that with Facebook, people aren't forced to go out and interact anymore, and will gradually become isolated because of it.


All things considered, Facebook is quite a negative tool. Yet, I've still got my Facebook account and won't let go of it. It kills time, if I'm ill or lonely I can see all of my friends at the click of a mouse, and it can be lots of fun. I just hope my life becomes more exciting so I won't feel the need to go on it all the time in future.

Summary: A bit of fun but should be used in moderation