Is Too Much Facebook Bad for You?

When MySpace came out, my friends wanted me to join. When YouTube came out, my friends wanted me to share videos. When Multiply came out, my friends wanted me to share photos. When Flixter came out, my friends invited me to share movie reviews. When Facebook came out, they all told me to hop on to the bandwagon and forget all about MySpace, Multiply, Flixter, YouTube or whatever social network they had previously used.

Now I'm confused. They told me that if I wanted everybody to know what was going on, I should use Twitter.

Are social networks messing with your mind?

When older folks asked me what was the deal with all these social networks, I told them it was just way to connect with friends and family, even get to know some like-minded strangers. But if you were to post every single activity that happens in your life, wouldn't that be boring? they asked. Older people would tell me that sometimes life is a lot better if you were less popular and don't have to be pressured to tell everybody what was going on with your life.

But that was their generation. Scientific American reports that if Facebook were a country, it would rank fourth with the most number of people visiting it almost everyday. Nielsen Online, the same company that ranks the popularity of TV shows, says that social networking and blogging also take up most people's time getting online. I've heard of boyfriends wondering whether their girlfriends are spending too much time on Facebook. We've all heard of the mom who twittered about her dying child all throughout the night, receiving sympathy from thousands of people. And the list can go on.

A lot of people believe that social networking can benefit us in a lot of ways. The more often we Twitter or post on Facebook, the more likely we become popular and gain more friends. Social networks boost self-esteem and provide comfort and connection. It's also a great way to keep in touch with our relatives who live overseas.

However, many people still believe social networking is a waste of time. After all, we only have 24 hours in one day. Much of these hours are devoted to work, commuting, eating, and finishing our daily chores. We probably have a few more hours left for relaxation. I guess half of the population in the United States prefer to post on Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace during this time left for solitude.

Humans are extremely social beings. We have evolved to become more used to a crowded world. In reality though, you wouldn't want to be posting photos and words that the ordinary person in the street would see. Nor would you say things that you wouldn't normally say in front of strangers' faces. But thanks to social networking sites, we can do what we want, sometimes without really thinking about the consequences of our activities.

Social networking, I believe, narrows our point of view and encloses us in the present world too much, much like being enclosed in an office cubicle for eight hours everyday. People who are addicted and are too connected forget that there's still a world to explore out there. People who post every single triviality that happens in their life do not have the opportunity to analyze what is deeper than meets the eye. They are also bound to be too self-conscious about what their peers might think about them. And if Facebookers think they are spending enough time with their loved ones within a shoulder's length, they should think again.

As always, moderation is the key. You can't spend too much time on Facebook as much as you can't spend too much time doing your laundry.