By Michelle Eigenheer–
Almost every modern-day college student shares a certain struggle each day: to Facebook or not to Facebook?
Mark Zuckerberg’s innovation, while great for networking, RSVPs and keeping up with friends, seriously gets in the way of studying. Not only that, but it creates problems in real, face-to-face interaction. Recently, I deleted my Facebook only to face an onslaught of criticism from my close friends. This only furthered my belief that I’d made a good choice.
Why would a 19-year-old college female delete her 24/7 link to the social life of others? There are plenty of reasons. The most prominent, however, can be found in the way that Facebook negatively affects how people socialize with one another.
There are many people who like to keep their News Feed updated with every change in activity that they face. Went to Walmart? Facebook that. Got a haircut? Facebook that. Had an argument? Facebook that.
This constant knowledge of what people are up to made me not care about those people anymore. Instead of living individual lives, the Facebook generation has interwoven each individual into the happenings of the people they know and “friend.” This creates a general apathy among the youth of today. Rather than texting or calling a friend to catch up, people tend to assume that they know all that is going on, causing real human contact to fall to the wayside.
Not even six hours after I deactivated my Facebook, I received numerous angry e-mails and text messages from people who were legitimately upset that they could no longer “Facebook stalk” me. This made me realize just how socially unhealthy it is that this generation depends on Facebook for entertainment and social interaction.
Facebook is great for a lot of reasons. Mark Zuckerberg did an amazing job, creating something that could link people in such an extensive and convenient way. However, Zuckerberg’s innovation is being used in an adverse way, creating disconnections between the youth of today.
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