Youth Say - Robert Weir
Published 7 Jun 2011 08:30
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SOCIAL media has been arguably the major breakthrough in technology in the past decade.
With more than 500 million users, Facebook, the world's most popular online social meeting place, has now got more 'Facebookers' as they are called, than the US have citizens.
Facebook is undoubtedly a global phenomenon and the company's worth reflects that as its most recent valuation saw the corporation to be worth almost 100 billion US dollars.
Facebook's main use is for friends to keep up with friends, for them to share information, pictures, links etc or even just to have an online conversation.
Companies use it as a platform to advertise themselves, reaching out to a vast amount of people all by a click of a button.
I used Facebook to help boost my various business ventures. Even companies that would class themselves as huge corporations have used the site to sell products as it not only advertises what they need advertised but it reaches out to their customers and target market all, as I say, through by a click of a button.
However, not that I like to spoil all the fun, but with such a huge online meeting place comes its fair share of problems.
Like most things, if you use Facebook wisely then it is perfectly safe, however, sometimes it can be lethal.
For example, recently as we are all well aware, Neil Lennon, along with two other Celtic fans, received letter bombs.
This was bad enough, however, not only did this happen but a site that said it wanted to "hunt and kill" the Celtic manager was viewed by thousands all through Facebook.
This was an extreme case, however, it is not the only one of such severity.
Pro-sectarian pages have been created on the site as have racially provocative ones too.
Such acts would suggest that Facebook should do more to regulate the content of their sites, ensuring that, yes, users can express their thoughts in a democratic way, but that they also ensure that pages don't consist of ones that aim to cause great harm to someone or consist of pro-terrorist material.
Furthermore, Facebook can also cause more harm than good on a smaller scale.
I have witnessed on several occasions those whom I am friends with on the site write something slightly inappropriate and maybe written when under the influence of alcohol which, naturally, they regret when reading it the next day on Facebook.
It does not stop at what is written either, things that are filmed or captured on a mobile phone do not take long to find it's way on a journey around the cyber-world.
Whether it be Facebook or Youtube, it is almost guaranteed that if someone is caught doing something remotely different, that it will find its way onto the internet fairly soon after.
In conclusion, I, as a user of the site, find Facebook a great platform for socialising and indeed promoting, however, the danger within the site lies close by and one must be vigilant in using it and handle it with care.
This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 07 Jun 11
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