One particular social network has hit America hard, growing in popularity by the day. Of what do I speak? Facebook! Facebook is the second largest social network, trailing MySpace. It has acquired the attention of over 8 million people across the U.S. since their launch in February of 2004. Facebook has littered the screens of computers, desktops, blackberry’s, iPod’s, and about every device that has internet access. According to the internal September 2005 survey, Facebook is the 7th most trafficked site in America!
America’s youth, especially, seem to be consumed with “the buzz” every day because the information is so readily accessible. Studies show that 85% of students, in supporting colleges, have an account and 60% of that log on daily. With a movement gaining so much momentum, it goes without saying the consequences of Facebook (whether good or bad) must be evaluated. The question that is raised, then, is this: “Is this helping or hurting society as a whole, furthermore, on an individual basis? My personal opinion is I do not like Facebook. I created an account, tried it out for a while, and decided I hated the whole concept. I will present to you the ideas and arguments I have against Facebook. It goes to say that I hold to these opinions about all social networking sites. Facebook however is the site I used, therefore it will be the one mentioned by name.
Let me start off by saying this. Facebook is not wrong. The purpose and concept of Facebook has good motives behind it. I base everything I do on the standard of the Bible. It is not contrary to the Bible, nor does it have an appearance of evil. There are a lot of benefits that we can gain from having an account. To be able to keep up with our friends and family, in moderation, is a luxury we can enjoy that our ancestors did not have. Likewise, it speeds up the communication process by being able to contact multiple people by just one click of the mouse. Unfortunately, I do believe that there are more reasons to dissuade me from using this social site than not.
The first and most notable reason is as I browse around I find a lot of immodesty floating around the site. Some of the pictures and videos that girls post on their profiles are very immodest, promiscuous, and inappropriate. For a guy, that is hard to ignore. That is one of the hardest temptations for a guy to resist. Also, guys have pictures and videos that do not honor God even though this problem is more centered on the female users of Facebook. Not only do I find pictures and videos that are condescending, but also the words and philosophies that are freely displayed. Profanity and the use of strong language are frequently evident as I click around. Philosophies that do not match up with my beliefs are displayed on profiles. In light of this observation, as a young man trying to pattern my life by God’s Word, this site seems to be a hindrance to that goal. Many temptations meet my mind, eyes, and beliefs making it easier to compromise than if I did not put myself in this situation.
Time is one of the most precious commodities we as humans possess on this earth. Let’s face it; everyone wants some of it too. We have to be careful in what we pour our time into. Prioritizing is one of the most beneficial practices we could do. We are called to be disciplined and use our time wisely. 2 Peter 1:5-6, 8-10 says, 5-6 “…giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to your virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness. 8-10 For if these things be in you (namely temperance), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things (namely temperance) is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail.” (Bold and parenthesis added). When we practice self-control with our time we will never fail in being effective. Also, we will be able to see afar off if we prioritize. Facebook is considered an extracurricular activity. The youth of today have fallen to the temptation of making Facebook a priority over homework, time with the Father in His Word, and responsibilities that were entrusted to them. Realizing then, that time is precious we should ask the questions: “Is Facebook a necessity in my life?” and “Is it worth my time?”
Facebook can produce a lot of emotional stress in a person’s life as well. From “top friends” jealously to rumors that go around all the way to basic miscommunications, a Facebook user can sometimes find him/her in an uncomfortable situation. Let me ask these following questions and I want you to consider yourself in these situations and ask yourself what you would do and more importantly how you would feel.
• How would you feel if your best friend, who had you as a top friend forever met someone new and put his new found friend higher on the list than you?
• What if your friend never wrote back on your wall when your expectation of him was to do so?
• How would you feel if someone was online and they would not chat back?
• How would you feel if one of your closest friends posted something on Facebook and you found out through their post and you felt like they should have told you first?
• How would you feel if you had someone “stalking” you on Facebook and would not leave you alone?
• How would you react if you saw flirtatious comments on your boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s wall from other people?
• What if someone got a hold of your password because you trusted them and then took advantage of their privilege?
• What if you saw a comment about you that was not true and people believed it?
These are just some of the questions I could ask. This barely skims the surface of the endless possibilities that could rise from interacting on Facebook. Now, I realize that these things I mentioned are a fact of life and will happen regardless of Facebook. My point is this: Facebook provides an atmosphere where that enhances and almost ensures hurt feelings and uncomfortable situations.
Going alongside with my last point, is the sense that Facebook, if we are not careful, can easily become a front or a mask we hide behind. Since everything is electronic and you are not physically present with the person you are talking to, you might feel as if there are fewer consequences to your actions and what you say or post. That is not good because people can very easily get hurt by words, and if we create an atmosphere whereby people feel less inclined to restrain their words then there will be a lot of hurt people.
One minor problem I see with the use of Facebook is this: Over a period of time your eye sight could digress. I feel this is not just for Facebook users, but for computer users everywhere. This goes along with my point on time management. Make sure you are staying accountable to yourself about how much time you spend looking at a blinding screen every day.
On the other hand, one major problem that presents itself on the Internet, especially in social networking is the problem of sexual predators and the loss of privacy. An article by Matt Murphy for The Berkshire Eagle located in Boston, Massachusetts says that the state has made an agreement with Facebook to put new restrictions on its site. This is just one of the other 48 states to have made this agreement. The state of Texas is the only exception. The new restrictions include an “age lock” where minors can block all users over the age of 18 years of age, and an installation of a 24 hour hotline to respond to law enforcement inquiries. “These are just a few of the 40 new safeguards that will be implemented on the site”, says Murphy. Still youth, in my opinion, are not safe. Despite the fact that almost all the states and the company of Facebook recognize the threat; rules and regulations cannot substitute for parent involvement or wisdom used by today’s youth (Facebook users). Take a look at these statistics from the department of FBI taken from Murphy’s article.
“FBI crime statistics shows that six out of 10 kids online have gotten an e-mail or instant message from a perfect stranger, and more than half have written back. One in every 33 children has been coaxed to meet an online stranger in person, and one in four kids between the ages of 10 and 17 has reported being exposed to unwanted sexual material. A 2006 Emerson Hospital survey of 8,000 junior and senior high school students found that almost 14 percent of seventh-graders and 15 percent of high school students had met someone in person that they initially met over the Internet.”
This is a new issue arising in today’s culture and needs serious attention. With the breakdown of families across the nation, with a divorce rate of over 50%, the guidance and protection is just not there. I really do hope that law enforcement will do all they can to stop these predators, and I am glad to see this agreement has taken place.
There are many reasons why I “hate Facebook”: immodesty, discipline of time management, emotional heartache and rumors, loss of consequences to our actions, poor eyesight, sexual predators, and loss of privacy. These points are only a basic overview of the reasons I personally will not involve myself in the social networking circle. I hope you will read this essay with an open mind, see my viewpoint, and consider adopting these views as your own. If nothing else, examine your activities on Facebook and ask yourself this question: “Is what I’m doing on Facebook giving glory to my Heavenly Father?” In Matthew 6:33 Jesus Christ says these words, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Are we seeking the kingdom first? Facebook could easily become another distraction to this goal adding clutter to our life. Please join me in coming back to this simple discipline in the Christian life - simplicity.
Works Cited
Leiner, Barry M.. "A Brief History of the Internet." isoc. 10 Dec 2003. Internet Society. 6 Sep 2009
Murphy, Matt. "Facebook turns tough on Web predators." PoliceOne.com. 09 May 2008. LexisNexis. 12 Sep 2009
Yadav, Sid. "Facebook: The Complete Biography." The Social Media Guide. 25 Aug 2006. Mashable. 12 Sep 2009<>.
I couldn't have said it better myself! I am convicted by the part that I stay on the computer myself way too long at times which hinders my time to do other things that need to get done and are of more priority. However, I do not do FaceBook myself because I do recognize it as a time waster. My main use of the computer is using it to operate a home based business and I also use it as therapy for myself by journaling my thoughts and feelings and it is much less stress on my fingers to type than to handwrite. I also use it to minister to my close friends through email. All of three of these things I mentioned can be very time consuming and can cause my time to get away from me, but for the most part believe that they are a good use of my time. And I do agree that it is very hard on the eyes looking at the screen for hours on end. I can tell it has affected my vision over the last several years. The time wasting for me comes when I begin looking up something in particular and then get lost in getting sidetracked with continually thinking of other things that come to mind. I find that if I make a list of things that come to my mind that I need to look up on the internet and then stick to that list and then once I find out the information I am looking for and quickly move onto the next item on the list, I can stay more focused and use less time. It is just a matter of discipline when using the internet.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to anyone out there who has their own computer is that no one should be without a filtering software program and they should be accountable to another person who is willing to help keep them accountable by setting up a password system. That way if you are prone to be tempted, which most people are, then you have something you can battle it with. All you have to do is just make the decision to block FaceBook or whatever is inappropriate and not God honoring and have someone else willing to set that up for you who knows the password (not yourself, cause that won't work), then you won't be able to even get to it at all. I guess if you are a computer whiz, you can get through anything if you set your mind to it, but if you are that determined to get to something that is blocked, then it would appear there are serious issues going on. Anyways, that is what my suggestion would be and if we would just be open to being transparent and authentic with our friends about the temptations we all have and help one another then we would have more victory in our lives. It's the secrets we hide and won't reveal that keep us in bondage and keep us hindered from being all that God desires us to be.