Facebook: Friend or Foe

Google Images

Want to be liked? Join Facebook.  Want to become divorce, stalked or murder? Join Facebook.  Facebook is a social network that helps people keep in touch.  Facebook originally started for college students but now is a social portal for anyone to join.  It is a great way for long distance relationships to stay close and personable.  Also in tragic situations Facebook is a way for people to connect.  During the devastation of the tornadoes that hit the southern region of the United States a   Facebook page was set up to help strangers return photos, documents, and other personal items to their owners. The page has been "liked" by more than 48,000 users. On the page many good-hearted citizens had posted images of items that they have found to help the victims of the tornado. "The thing about social media is that it is just a capability, something that people will invent ways to use," says analyst Ezra Gottheil, who describes Facebook and Twitter as non-obtrusive broadcast media. "You can shout your find, or your loss, from the rooftops, but no one has to listen unless and until they want to," Gottheil says.  Facebook has brought people (and items) together but there is a negative downside.

In North Carolina Karen Ann Rooney was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend after she posted news of her engagement to another man on her Facebook page. In the news, blogs and other social sites more and more stories like these seem to emerge.  People have lost their jobs over what they  have posted.  Even more recently there have also been a lot of news stories that suggest that Facebook cause divorce.  According to an article in The Wall Street Journal:

Some lawyers do say that they see Facebook and other social media playing a role in divorce these days, as people rediscover old flames online or strike up new relationships that lead them to stray from their marriage vows.

Does Facebook cause divorce? A Facebook spokesman calls it “ludicrous” that the social networking sight causes divorce. According to a new survey by The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers one in five divorces involve the social networking site Facebook.  There have been disputes to these claims. The Wall Street Journal article also states:

But lawyers and marriage researchers say there isn't much evidence to support the notion that social-networking sites actually cause marriages to sputter.

Google Images

There are a lot of opinions regarding the good and bad of Facebook. Facebook is a website so it can’t be physically harmful to people. Or is it like alcohol? Dangerous when used excessively. Either way be careful what you post. There is someone always watching.


Sources:
Facebook
Wall Street Journal
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Google