Award-winning student news since 1978

The Brookhaven Courier

Award-winning student news since 1978

The Brookhaven Courier

Award-winning student news since 1978

The Brookhaven Courier

Facebook poked by social media newbie

By Andres Reyes

Sports Editor

 

This isn’t an angry outburst, it isn’t a persuasive attempt to change anyone’s opinion, and it certainly isn’t a negative piece on Facebook or anyone who uses Facebook. Facebook, in fact, has many advantages. You can stay in touch with family on the other side of the planet, communicate with people from work, get an idea across to millions of people in the same amount of time it would take to tell just one person, and of course, you can check up on what all of your friends are doing. It’s January 2014, and I have yet to make a Facebook account. Here’s why.

There shouldn’t be a compulsive need to let every one of your Facebook “friends” know what’s going on in your life. Sharing is important, I know, and person- ally I love to share those things, but only with certain people. I certainly don’t see the point in sharing them through a message on Facebook or Twitter.

Curiosity kills, and of course one can’t help but wonder what other people are doing, but it’s probably better for that to come up in conversation if the person decides to share. In Geoffrey Mohan’s Los Angeles Times article, “Facebook is a bummer, study says,” he wrote, “Studies have suggested that Facebook can evoke envy in others’ activities and profile, leaving users with diminished self-images.”

People can sometimes see what others are doing and think that’s what they should be doing, or maybe see others’ profiles and think, “Why don’t I have that?” Everyone needs to understand that they shouldn’t want to be successful and happy because others are; they should want to be successful and happy for their own well being. You shouldn’t worry how your wall looks or if your friends think you’re out having fun. That keeps you from living life. Success is built on the belief that you want to better yourself, not better your image.

In the case of building friend- ships, it’s clear that Facebook can help. However, once the exchange of information to con- tact each other is shared, communication should decrease on Facebook.

A coworker once told me she had everyone she knew as a friend on Facebook, except her best friend. I asked her why, and she said, “If we were friends on Facebook, we wouldn’t be friends in real life.” So are Facebook friends really your friends? Or are they merely spoonful’s that feed your self-esteem? In some cases, they might starve your self-esteem if you don’t like what’s being served that day. Maria Konnikova wrote in her New Yorker article, “Why Facebook Makes Us Unhappy” that “one experiment concluded that Facebook could even cause problems in relationships, by increasing feelings of jealousy.”

Honestly, it’s no secret that Facebook can be fun and entertaining. I see my friends on it and I think, “Oh that’s cool,” or “That’s so funny,” but it just isn’t for me. Maybe I was born on another planet, or maybe I was dropped on my head when I was a baby. Call me an alien, or tell me I have a screw loose. I text or call my friends and family. I read news on actual newspaper sites. I follow sports by watching ESPN or reading Bleacher Report. However, I will soon do all of that and more on Facebook. So add me.

 

 

 

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