Positive and Negative effects from Facebook

Negative effects Facebook has on society

·         The negative effects of Facebook are no different than any other social media site. People can become addicted and infatuated with Facebook and wasting a lot of time on it. When on Facebook there is a lot more to do than just look at peoples status updates and pictures. Facebook has a large gaming community which is made up of games Facebook users can play with their own friends. These games are simple time-based games that take a while to be rich in the game. There is an option for these players to spend their own money on this virtual game to be able to buy items in their game. According to the article from Forbes.com 1.6% Of Facebook Users Spent Over $1 Billion On Virtual Goods out of the 955 million Facebook users, 15 million have spent their own money on Facebook games. Even though it is only 1.6% of Facebook users it is still 15 million people. For the first half of 2012 these users have spent $1.26 billion on virtual games. I see this as being a negative because the small percentages of people that do spend their money on Facebook spend a lot. If they do spiral out of control on spending their money on these games it can lead to losing personal assets that they can no longer pay for, such as their car, house, or not being able to send their children to college.

·         Facebook is a great way to spread information, especially false information. Not only is Facebook a great way to find out the ending to a show or movie you have not seen yet, but there have been cases of people spreading false information about huge events. From the article Misuse of social media could wreak havoc, warns World Economic Forum “More than 500 million people have signed up to Twitter, and one billion to Facebook in less than decade. There have been several incidents over the past 12 months, where false information transmitted on the internet, or by text message, has had serious consequences” This shows that through all these people connected on these sites it is very easy to spread false information which can lead to severe consequences.

Positive effects Facebook has on society.

·         Almost everywhere you go you see the Facebook logo. Many stores have them because it is completely free advertising. Advertising can be very expensive especially if you have a small budget. Facebook is a great way for companies to keep their followers up to date on sales, hours, and specials they will have. From the article How to advertise your business for free “Setting up a business page on Facebook is free, and allows you to interact with your customers and other businesses. Host giveaways limited to people who "like" your profile or share one of your posts, and offer special Facebook-only deals via messages to customers who follow your activity. Many businesses forgo creating their own website and simply list their Facebook pages as their business sites.” This is amazing for businesses just starting out. If you do have the money to spend on more advertising Facebook also offers paid advertising to reach out to more potential customers.

·         Facebook is great for meeting new people. Facebook makes it easy to find people with the same interests as you, just simply find people who like the same things as you do on Facebook and reach out to them. From the article How to Find People with the Same Hobbies on Facebook “One of the benefits of social media is being able to make new friends based on common interests and hobbies.” This article also tells you how to find those people with the same interests. This is a great benefit for social media in general and Facebook for getting it started and possible.

Facebook definitely has a wide range of positive and negative effects on society. If the negative effects were so bad Facebook wouldn’t be the way it is today. There are so many positives that outweigh the negatives. With every good thing come negatives. The negatives of being addicted to Facebook or spending money on virtual games can be controlled by people themselves. The negative of false information being spread will have to have high consequences so people won’t be tempted in the first place. 

Works Cited

Goodwin, Bill. "Misuse of Social Media Could Wreak Havoc, Warns World Economic Forum." Misuse of Social Media Could Wreak Havoc, Warns World Economic Forum. Tech Targed, 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

"How to Advertise Your Business for Free." WikiHow. MediaWiki, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Weedmark, David. "How to Find People With the Same Hobbies on Facebook." How to Find People With the Same Hobbies on Facebook. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Yung-Hui, Lim. "1.6% Of Facebook Users Spent Over $1 Billion On Virtual Goods." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 02 Aug. 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet.

Advantages:

·         Promoting- Businesses all over the world are now able to promote and sell their product to people thousands of miles away because of the internet. Advertising does not come cheap and the internet has offered a free way to advertise using social networking. Now people don’t have to leave the comfort of their own home to shop.

·         Entertainment- The internet is a way to stay entertained for hours. From buzzle.com “Entertainment is one of the foremost reasons why people prefer surfing the Web.” You can find virtually anything you’re interested in and watch a video on it. YouTube is a great way to stay entertained. Now that Netflix allows you to watch shows at the click of a button for any of their movies, TV shows or documentaries you don’t even need cable television anymore. The internet has definitely made it much easier to stay entertained.

·         Research- The whole reason the internet is around is because people wanted an easier way to link their research together. Since the internet has been around you don’t find nearly as many people sitting in the library sifting through books for information. Even though books are still one of the best sources, the internet makes it easier to find that book or other information for the same topic.

Disadvantages:

·         Stolen Identity- Even though the internet has made shopping easier, there is still a risk you take when shopping online. There are ways that people can go into databases and steal information the customer has provided. But there is also a risk with going to the store to purchase the same thing if you use a credit card. It just recently happened at Target.

·         Dangerous- For kids to have access to all the internet has to offer is very dangerous. It is extremely easy for someone to say they are someone who they are not. Without the right parental restrictions and knowing how to decipher good from bad the internet can be dangerous to not only kids, but adults too.

·         Virus’s- A virus can permanently break a computer with no physical damage. By clicking on the wrong website or accidently clicking on a pop up add a virus can be downloaded to your computer without any knowledge. This is why it is very important to have some sort of virus protection for your computer when using the internet.

Pakhare, Jayashree. "Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet." Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 10 July 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

What I want to learn in this class.

In this class I am excited to learn how the internet turned into the way it is today. I also want to learn about new media and how it differs from traditional media. Since everyone in the class has a blog now it will be interesting to see so many different opinions on the same topics.