Social networking sites, most
notably Facebook have become so popular today that they are the leading words on
the lips of every teenager. Facebook has more than 750 millions users today. You
love to spend most of your time checking your Facebook updates, but do you know
that there are many negative effects of using Facebook.
Most of the teenagers don’t realize the negative impact of Facebook on their
life. And, the main reason is because they are already addicted to it. And, this
addiction can lead to several negative developments. You will find 7 negative
effects of this social networking site that should encourage you to start
avoiding it.
The first negative effect of Facebook is that a teenage user starts loosing
interest in his or her surroundings. You would be addicted to Facebook and the
only thing you would be concerned about will be your “own” world, which is
inside Facebook.
The second negative effect is that your real-world social interaction will start
diminishing. There is no doubt that you are going to have hundreds of friends on
Facebook, but with how many of them would you be interacting out in the real
world. As a human being, you are a social creature and you naturally require
real-world social interaction. When you are going to spend maximum of your time
on the Internet, you are going to decrease your communication and social skills.
Another negative impact will be on your health. There is a very high chance that
excessive use of Facebook leads to the users becoming obese. You would be
sitting most of the time in front of the computer, eating snacks and without any
physical activities. And, over a period of time you are going to accumulate all
the extra pounds.
Facebook is also going to minimize your study time. Rather than spending your
time on Facebook, you would better start browsing some educational sites that
relate to your school course.
For Facebook users, family doesn’t come first, but Facebook does. For them their
online friends are more important than their family members.
The sixth negative effect of Facebook is that your personal data becomes public
on this social site, threatening your privacy. This is not reasonable, unless
you want to be contacted by hundreds of people that don’t know you.
The seventh negative effect of Facebook is that it increases the chances of
online conflict. Facebook is populated with immature individuals who create
bizarre statuses, upload awkward images and carry out absurd actions. And, this
can lead to conflicts between people.
Given these negative effects of Facebook it is up to you to decide the degree to
which you want this social networking site to enter into your life. Getting
addicted to Facebook is certainly going to increase problems in your life, but
if you can restrict or avoid the use of this non-productive aspect of your life,
you are going to stay away from troubles. Hence, it is up to you to decide how
you want to use Facebook.
(Saman Irfan, Karachi university)