Many main stream media sources would like you to believe that Facebook is the criminal and paedophile central of the universe, and if you use it then you should stop immediately because someone might find out where you live; come to your house to murder you. Fear mongering is what the media does best at and it doesn't half try to make everyone scared of the phenomenon known as social networking, which it describes as dangerous.
A day doesn't go go by where you can't read an article about how Facebook is selling your details to burglars or saying that any child who creates an account on Facebook will be groomed by a paedophile in seconds. The second point there is particularly an interesting one since Facebook did sue the Daily Mail newspaper for publishing an article saying exactly that. The newspaper then immediately retracted the story and said that they had got mixed up with Facebook and another website. Reasonably, Facebook suggested that if they really did care about children's safety then they would release the name of the site the article was referring to. We're still waiting...
Another major criticism I am hearing more and more often is that everyone on the internet is becoming self obsessed and are only singed up to websites, such as Facebook, to show off and be noticed. Rather than calling everyone a narcissist and branding them LFL (losers for life), I think it is better that we live in a world where people are now more confident to share their everyday lives and opinions. The internet gives people a platform to share their creativity and ideas. In contrast, I do also think that opinions should be justified and based on some experience the creator has had. There are a lot of articles online which are exactly not this which are an unfortunate by-product of giving people the freedom to do what they want. Sort of like giving somebody a newspaper slot.
If I hear the quote 'Who wants to read status updates about what someone's having for dinner' or any other variation while speaking about social networking sites, I swear I will hit someone. The majority of these criticisms are coming from uninformed, scared, anti-progressive boring people, who have still yet to use Facebook because they 'don't get it' or another equally poor excuse. There isn't a problem if people don't want to use these services since they find them difficult to use but don't write articles stating that no one should use them because your brain can't figure it out. I can't believe that I am reading genuine articles printed in mainstream newspapers criticizing services, that are free, which the writer has never used (assuming that's what he or she actually thinks). I appreciate everyone does not find technology easy to use but some of the criticisms plainly baffle me.
One complaint I recently heard, while driving, was on a debate about whether to use Facebook or not on a national radio program. They had brought in some idiotic cave-woman, who had written one of these uninformed blabblings about Facebook, to share her opinion on a topic she clearly knew nothing about. The presenter, who also confessed to never having used Facebook, asked her why she didn't use it. After the usual one liner and some very subjective opinions one listener called in and stated that she uses Facebook because it is easier to share her vacation pictures with her friends. Hard to argue with and a fair point. The chimp then stated that it felt that when someone uploads pictures to Facebook it doesn't feel as personal than when you receive them in an email and because it's so easy it looks lazy. Obviously this woman has never tried to email two hundred photos to all her friends and since when did using a process that produces the exact same results with less hassle become lazy? Is that really a reason not to use Facebook? Isn't there a balance between making something more personal and practicality? The one valid point I did hear on this show was that a lot of people people feel pressured to join because they receive lots of emails asking them to. These people then join unwillingly because they are practically forced to by their friends. A brutal sales tactic but it undoubtedly works.
The latest craze in the Facebook hate spree is cyber bullying. Thanks to the internet, rather than being bullied only IRL (in real life), people can also cyber bully you by posting mean messages. Bullying is wrong and I am completely against it however blaming Facebook for it is like me blaming my phone for no one texting me. Bullying is done by people and even though these websites do offer more ways to bully people it is still the people who are at fault. Arguably, cyber bullying is a lot better than bullying in real life because of all the evidence it leaves behind and in a way is easier to prevent. It isn't one or the other though. If you are being bullied online there is a strong chance you are being bullied IRL also. Bullying will happen with or without the internet and it would be seen as wrong to tell someone not to leave the house if they were getting bullied the same way it would be wrong to say not to go on the internet if you are being cyber-bullied.
I hope not everyone is a zombie and just blindly believe what they are reading. These people are hindering progress and preventing people from making an informed decision about whether to join. Facebook may not be perfect but it isn't anything like how these people describe it. It's a tool that was created to make contacting friends and sharing easier. No, Facebook isn't for everyone but everyone should have the right to make an accurately informed decision rather than leaving it to other people to tell them what to think.
The internet isn't a Garden of Eden where children can explore freely just like the real world isn't. For every sick and depressing story about the internet there are thousands of positive ones. There are genuine articles and complaints about why Facebook could be bad but the majority are plain BS. Bad news sells, and some journalists will do all they can the make some. The important thing to do is to call out these propaganda spreaders who are simply trying to make money and start spreading the facts. I am now going to go and hit my face on a door for stating the obvious...the media make things up.
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