Facebook : Naughty or Nice?

A recently conducted study by www.divorce-online.com revealed that Facebook was named in one out of five American divorce petitions in 2010. The study, consisting of 5,000 divorce papers, also discovered that MySpace, Twitter and Bebo also contributed to marital deterioration. 

This reflects one of many problems caused by Facebook. Depression, loss of interest in work or studies, health problems due to not sleeping enough hours in the night and challenges with regard to privacy are a few more in the list.

There is a serious debate worldwide on the existence of Facebook as a social networking site and surprisingly, there is a page titled ‘Facebook just causes problems’ on Facebook itself! You could find many similar pages and blogs highlighting problems it has created. 

China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Syria, Vietnam, Iran and North Korea are among countries that have imposed a ban on Facebook, either directly or indirectly. There are rumours that it will be banned in Sri Lanka but so far no official statement has been made with regard to such a move. 

It is true that Facebook has created many social issues, but can we blame only Facebook for all this?

Let’s first look at the amazing statistics of Facebook:

With over 500 million users, Facebook is now used by one in every 13 people on earth, with over 250 million of them (over 50%) who log in every day. 48% of 18-34-year-olds check Facebook when they wake up, with 28% doing so before even getting out of bed. 

The 35+ demographic is growing rapidly now, covering over 30% of the entire Facebook user base. The core 18-24 year old segment is now growing the fastest, at 74% year on year. Almost 72% of all US internet users are now on Facebook, while 70% of the entire user base is located outside of the US.

Over 200 million people access Facebook via their mobile phone. 48% of young people said they now get their news through Facebook. Meanwhile, in just 20 minutes on Facebook, over one million links are shared, two million friend requests are accepted and almost three million messages are sent.

Looking at the above statistics, one may argue it is too late to take action as it already became a part of the life of many people. 

According to recently released figures from eMarketer, Facebook’s revenue for advertising alone, which excludes revenue for virtual currencies and other sources, came to an astonishing $ 1.86 billion in 2010. Looking at the money it generated, it is very unlikely that Facebook Inc. will take any decision to cease operating the site despite growing criticisms.

Analysing the acceptance of Facebook, the huge revenue it has generated and the way it rewrite theories behind ‘relationships,’ Facebook being branded as one of biggest online success stories is inevitable.

A lot of extraordinary thinking was behind the creation of Facebook and it has proactively launched many features to reduce negative impacts of the site and increase security and privacy.

In my view, the problem of Facebook lies in the hand of its users. It is an amazing creation of mankind, but the way users are misbehaving on it has resulted in blunders. It is questionable whether the majority of subscribers used Facebook in the proper and true sense.

It has been exposed that there is a growing number of fake profiles being created and used for many socially unacceptable motives. All such bad practices on the site have degraded the real value of this incredible website.

According to newspapers reports, the National Centre for Cyber Security has revealed that it receives five to six complaints daily on Facebook-related abuse and according to the same source, the number was as high as 15 to 20 per day six months back. It believes that Facebook crimes are decreasing due to the extensive awareness campaigns being carried out. 

The answer for many Facebook related problems could be solved with two simple activities. Mainly, self discipline of users and extensive awareness of abuse. This may save both the future of Facebook and that of its users.