HAVING A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT IS BENEFICIAL FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS. WHAT DO YOU THINK.

Everything in the world has good and bad aspects, and that can definitely be said as true for the phenomenon that is Facebook. is Facebook a valuable communication platform beneficial to all its users, or merely a time waster that has caused more headaches than happiness? For me, an average, sociable seventeen year old, I could say that it is beneficial and dangerous at the same time.

Certainly, there are many advantages to Facebook. The easiness of communication is the obvious one. Who could have possibly imagined that someone would create a space where we could communicate, share photos and keep up-to-date with our friends from all over the globe as long as we had access to an internet connection?

It has become a platform upon which teenagers can express their feelings and voice their opinions, knowing that they will actually be heard, if not by adults, certainly by their peers. Whether they want to share their feelings with the world, or merely their closest friends, Facebook makes either possible. For some, it is their first opportunity to truly feel as though they belong to a group. Their first chance to feel as though someone is actually listening, that others care about them, their opinions and feelings. This concept, for me personally, is difficult to fully grasp. I get it, I understand it, I know that some people just need to feel loved and cared about, but I’d prefer face-to-face contact any day, which leads me to the negatives.

For years, I have had the dangers of cyberspace drilled into me from parents, from teachers, from various adults. On Facebook it is very easy for cyber bullies to thrive. They can harass and/or gang up on one person even easier than they could in a school environment. There aren't moderators that go around monitoring what people say to each other. Anything can be said. There are also a relatively small amount of parents that have Facebook accounts and keep up with their children's. More than once I've witnessed this form of bullying, whether it be about race, appearance, intelligence, etc.

I don’t see social networking, in particular Facebook, as an entirely bad thing or a completely good thing, but simply a combination of the two. As with everything in life, there are elements of both associated with it, and just like junk food and most good things, moderation is the key