Facebook Research Papaer

When I was a teenage, most people interact by telephone; E-mail, social networks, and texting did not exist.  With the use of technology, society can use a computer to communicate with our friends and family members by sending an electronic message, by logging onto a social media site, or by sending an instant text message.    

Facebook is a social network, which gives people channel to communicate with one another easier.  Using Facebook has allowed me to connect with estranged family members and observe my relative’s photos, read messages and responses, and view posted videos.  Being 3,000 miles away from home is difficult so being able to just say hello or share my daily events with family members is fantastic and keeps me from feeling lonely.

However there are some negative aspects of sharing information with people using a social media site because information can be shared with people who you do not know; thus causing issues related to privacy and safety when communication with others.

Information about Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site and it is used by millions of people to share information with others easier.  Before Facebook, people talked to each other through writing letters, talking on the phone and face-to-face meetings. Since 2004, Facebook has grown from being on one school to having over 200 million people in their network by 2009 (Neuert 1).

According to Patricia Greenfield, Facebook is one of many sites that lets people build online profiles, talk to each other privately or publicly and share different types of media like pictures and videos (Greenfield 121).

Facebook is also popular among people of different age groups. According to Levi Baker’s studying, around 65% of teenagers and 35% of grown adults use one social networking site, like Facebook (Baker, 875).   There are different reasons why people tend to us Facebook as a communication channel, but the primary reason is to maintain interpersonal communication and strengthen relationships with current or past acquaintances. As Rick Nauert put it, “the purpose is to reinforce established friendships and form bonds with new friends” (Nauert 1).

The reason it is so popular is because when you are keeping up with people, what they are sharing is changing (Nauert 1).   The benefit of social networking sites like Facebook allows  people to feel close when communicating online; thus being more sociable.

New Connections

Facebook is a great communication forum to develop new relationships because we can connect with groups giving you an opportunity to meet new people.   You can introduce yourself by writing a brief message and the receiver can then decide if they will accept your invitation by looking at your profile. You can also see the friends of your connections; thus expanding your network. Basically, the profile page gives a huge amount of personal information about the person to start with (Ellison 1143).