By Social media in a wider sense is something that can get a degree of criticism for such factors as arguments and disagreements that can occur as well as how easy it can be for abuse to circulate. Speaking specifically with regard to Facebook it has become a staple part of so many people’s day-to-day lives and routines. This can bring its own problems of course but it is also important to acknowledge all of the ways that Facebook has benefitted its users over the past few years.
Bridging the gap
Social media is fantastic for enabling people to connect with groups and individuals from literally anywhere in the world. With regard to Facebook it is a facility that allows you to be as private as you wish and you can choose to only connect with those who you know personally, or the ones that you specifically approve onto your friend list. In the past, if a friend or family member moved away somewhere then the contact would be limited to telephone, writing letters and the occasional visit when it was a possibility. With Facebook however you can keep in touch with anyone from all across the globe and in a range of ways too.
You can read the status of the person each time they post, you can send each other private or public messages and you can see photos any time the other person uploads them. This allows you to really feel like you are keeping in touch and keeping track of each other’s life and in a way that is simply not possible merely by email for example.
Enabling new friendships and relationships
There can be little doubt that Facebook has made it much easier to build on connections that you make with someone, either in terms of friendship or romantically. For example, you may have been slightly familiar with someone of the opposite sex to a certain extent but been too shy to talk to them in person. With Facebook it gives you a degree of protection in this sense and allows you to start a conversation without having to do it face to face, although some may argue that this is a shame.
Events and birthdays
There are certainly some organisational benefits to Facebook and this is felt strongly with events and birthdays. You can keep track of the birthdays of everyone in your friend list and this means that there is little excuse for forgetting their day or indeed any other event arranged on there.
Article written by Tony Forbes on behalf of the specialists in personalised Facebook timeline covers – http://www.foob.me/.
There is a demographic that gets left out in every argument for Facebook. It is the military. We move every 3-5 years, meet tons of new people at every new base and don’t get to go home and see our family but once or twice a year. Not to mention the deployments to remote locations with limited access to general correspondence. Facebook serves us greatly as a tool to keep in touch with all of our family and friends all over the world by just scrolling through our newsfeed. My parents get to watch their grandbabies grow up on Facebook. My daily check-ins are mostly to see what is going on in the lives of all of the people I love all over the world. In that sence Facebook has changed the world and it’s not just the young addicts that would miss it if it disappeared.