Volume 4 Issue 5 May, 2014
“Facebook”……Is it time to „face‟ the consequences?
In 1971, the first email was delivered. More than 40 years on, social media has taken the world by storm. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are now used by 1 in 4 people worldwide. Facebook is the leading social networking site, with more than 1.2 billion global active users every month.
Social networks are undeniably convenient and practical. They facilitate our communication with friends, promote new acquaintances and facilitate the access to information scattered on the Internet by collecting it in one place. Such activity may seem harmless, but some researchers suggest social media may affect our mental health and well-being.
The downside of Facebook is sobering and worth our attention. It appears that one in every three Facebook users experience feelings of jealousy and envy after spending time on the site. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that quitting Facebook was more difficult than giving up cigarettes or alcohol and thus rekindling the hypothesis of Facebook addiction. Researchers found that people who are more anxious and socially insecure are more likely to use the social networking site. Further issues like relationship issues, online emotional bonding, online suicidal attempt, bullying, virtual empathy, virtual modeling, lack of attention span, immediate gratification, emotional suppression, inflated sense of social well being are all going to affect the mental well being of our society. It’s time for the society to
become technologically mature and to incorporate some ‘virtual hygiene’ rules for optimal utilization of this ever evolving social network.
