The Hazards of Facebook

If you've been on the web recently, you know exactly what Facebook is. Sadly, Facebook has devolved from a gathering place of good friends to a detrimental service. Personally, I've left it for a month now, and I haven't regretted the decision since. If you're still skeptical, let's take a closer look at the Facebook's major problems.

1. Loss of Privacy

Since the conception of Facebook until now, the service has been removing privacy features very gradually. However, these changes have come to be very noticeable as of late, and users everywhere should be worried about these privacy. Consider the recent case where individuals protested over the reduction in Facebook privacy features. The problem boils down to how more and more of a user's information will become permanently public, such as your profile picture and name, along with other information. To add to this problem, Facebook intentionally implemented a complicated privacy system. To the eyes of many critics, the privacy policies of Facebook are nothing but a "Slippery slope" situation, in which more and more privacy features are going to be removed. Needless to say, even if you don't believe these assertions, you should still be worried about the encroachments upon your privacy in the future.

2. Time Waste

Whether you're a student or a worker, you know that Facebook has a variety of features to waste your time with. Facebook's games, such as Farmville or Mafia Wars, have become infamous for how much time they suck from users. The interesting thing to note about these services is that they're designed to be addictive and enticing. Games like Mafia Wars contain a "progressive function" in which users are enticed to constantly keep playing the game to gain levels and move up on the ladder. This is very problematic for students and workers who can't afford these distractions. To spare your productivity at work or school, leave Facebook now!

3. Facebook Viruses

Every now and then, hackers and malicious programmers often find exploits in Facebook to take advantage of. They develop Facebook viruses that can cause your account to send embarrassing messages and links to your friends. Consider the case in 2008, in which a Facebook virus called Koobface caused major problems for thousands of users. The biggest problem with these viruses is that they are designed to be highly contagious. One accidental click on an infected Facebook message can cause your computer to be infected. As a result, getting a virus on Facebook is not a rare occurrence. My main concern was that I was interacting in a realm that was heavily concentrated with these viruses and that my personal information on my own computer might even get compromised.

4. Unprofessional Setting

I think the biggest fear I had of Facebook were the stories of how colleges checked students' Facebook accounts as part of their college admissions process. By extension, my fear was that future employers for ideal jobs also checked their employees' Facebook accounts as a background check. As an individual seeking a job or an existing employee, you never want to needless implicate yourself in a negative way. This is also especially true for high school seniors looking to go to college. College admission offices have taken Facebook background checks very seriously, and it would be unfortunate to lose a ticket to a dream school just because of a bad photo.

Certainly Facebook has its advantages, such as being able to talk to friends. However, I don't quite understand why communication can't take place outside this service. Moreover, I really feel that the harms of Facebook greatly outweigh any benefits.