Facebook...The Good or the Bad...Your Say!

[blondguy]

Hi Everybody

Without a doubt Facebook is one of the best social media sites. I have been on FB for a long time and found it invaluable yet very stressful at times whilst having anxiety and/or depression or even just checking it every day.

Your views on FB, its impact on your mental health, well being, whether good or not so good are more than welcome.

Thankyou for reading my thread topic!

my kind thoughts

Paul

[blondguy]

Hey CoffeeBean....You hit the nail on the head with "That said, I don't miss it, I just check it maybe once a month just to see who got married, who had a baby. Unfortunately some in my family only ever communicate via Facebook"

Leaving Facebook is not necessarily a sign of depression at all....It may just mean that your time is more important to you and your general well being!

Great post CoffeeBean. My Best. Paul

[blondguy]

Hi Tony and thanks for helping with the benefits of Facebook especially in such a personal situation.

TonyWK mentioned a great point: "When I was a toddler my parents disowned 4 of my dads siblings. 59 years
later I got a message on fb from a person I didnt know, a cousin, a daughter of one of those aunties"

That is Gold and thankyou Tony. My Best. Paul

[blondguy]

Hey Star76

Your statement is not one sided at all as I feel Facebook can be detrimental to our kids especially with the pressure they have go through nowadays. Even without FB there is a huge amount of peer pressure they have to juggle without being 'accepted' or rejected as friend on Facebook. Some of the young Facebookers wont engage the privacy controls as an adult would. To have a 'friend' request is huge boost to them...thus not enabling the privacy functions.

I see a responsible and caring parent and thanks for the great thread Star76

Star76 mentioned "I just hope my children really think hard before having any involvement with them" (Facebook)

Thanks Star76!. My Best. Paul

[Guest_322]

Hi Paul,

It was interesting to read everyone's perspectives and personal stories of FB use. I suppose, like with most things, there are pros and cons when it comes to FB. I guess it comes down to how you use it as well as how the people that you interact with on FB- or other social media platforms- use it.

So to share my 2 cents, and I realise that not everyone will agree, which is okay- each to their own....

I think social media has its place in terms of career/academic advancement, raising awareness for various causes and crowd funding.

For example, I know that unis often advertise job opportunities and internships on their university FB page (or various uni faculty FB pages) that they don't always advertise elsewhere. So if you don't regularly check FB/have your own account, you can easily miss out on opportunities.

Also, I think social media is an excellent and cost effective way to raise awareness for causes whether it's human rights, animal welfare, etc. It's fast, cheap and has the potential to reach a huge national or international audience (and it's much faster and cheaper than letters, brochures, etc). This becomes even more important when it's used as a tool in crowd funding for important causes, not-for-profit, etc. I have friends who have used FB and twitter as tools to raise funds for charity events.

Also, social media can help keep important issues "topical" whether it's mental health or otherwise by various organisations. There can be "real time" updates to not only inform but to maintain interests in issues versus, say, a brochure that can easily be forgotten a week after you have read it.

So I guess the way that I see FB and other social media is, yeah, sure, it has many drawbacks but it also has many positives too. I tend to personally view it not so much from my personal interaction lens- although yes, I use it to interact with my friends and some classmates- but from the perspective of info dissemination, awareness raising and not missing out on uni opportunities advertised on uni and faculty FB pages.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I understand that not everyone feels the same way and that's cool.

Dottie x

[blondguy]

Hey Dottie! Your opinion is highly valued as always 🙂

You have posted some great reasons to use Facebook as a great tool in a positive way.

What do you think about a young person (Year 7 -12) that has heavy peer group pressure combined with low self esteem on Facebook? If they are fragile could the site be detrimental to their well being?

Thankyou Dottie. My kindest...Paulx

[Guest_322]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the supportive response 😊

I guess my answer to your question is "it depends." Mind you, it's only my personal opinion. Other people might have different opinions.

I don't think FB is inherently good or bad but it's how a person, such as a school aged person, uses it.

Sure, in some cases, FB can have a negative effect on a high school student with low self esteem and significant peer pressure if they accept all and any friend requests, causes themselves to constantly compare oneself to others or is being cyber bullied.

But in terms of peer pressure, I think social media is just one facet of it. It also exists offline and isn't restricted purely to FB. Although I suppose social media has just added another dimension to it.

I still think it is possible for a struggling school aged student to use FB safely and healthily. I think education is key in terms of learning about safe internet use, and that sometimes what you see on social media can be an illusion (in the sense that people often only put the best versions of themselves online).

If a school aged person uses social media safely (doesn't accept friend requests from people they don't really know, puts FB on a private setting, etc) and has been made aware that what they see isn't always an accurate representation of someone else then I don't think FB is necessarily problematic.

Also, I think the reality is most people in that age group (or at least in the developed/"first world" countries) use FB so to be the only one offline in, say, your friendship group at school means missing out in some ways. For example, everyone meets up at school on Monday and discusses some harmless, funny Sunday posts but the student without FB can't participate in the conversation.

Also, a lot of social group things are organised on FB between friends so if you're not on FB, you could be left out (and by "friends", I mean actual friends that they know offline as well and not a stranger they met online). And I feel being left out isn't necessarily a positive thing for a school aged person's self esteem either.

So I guess my perspective is it depends on how they use it and their degree of cyber safety awareness, education about the benefits and pitfalls, etc. Poor cyber safety awareness and unrealistic expectations could have negative effects. But good cyber safety and awareness could mean that they engage positively with it.

So my conclusion is education, education, education.

Dottie x

[blondguy]

Thanks for your learned advice Dottie and providing people with the reality re the pro's as well as how con's can happen too....Excellent

Dottie mentioned " in some cases, FB can have a negative effect on a high school student
with low self esteem and significant peer pressure if they accept all
and any friend requests, causes themselves to constantly compare oneself
to others or is being cyber bullied"

Dottie also mentioned a great positive here too...."a lot of social group
things are organised on FB between friends so if you're not on FB, you
could be left out (and by "friends", I mean actual friends that they
know offline as well and not a stranger they met online). And I
feel being left out isn't necessarily a positive thing for a school
aged person's self esteem either"

You have a terrific sense of balance Dottie and thankyou so much for your take on the topic 🙂

My Best. Paul x

[Guest_322]

Hi Paul,

Thanks again for your willingness to listen to multiple viewpoints (mine as well as everyone else's perspectives). Your open mindedness is a really good trait.

I appreciate what you said- thank you. That's very kind of you.

Dottie x

[Quercus]

I honestly don't know how I feel about social media. I'm not on any. Deleted my Facebook account when I was pregnant and decided I felt uncomfortable with people tagging photos of my kids even if I didn't put any on there.

I do miss it sometimes. Mainly because I get excluded from a lot of things. Mother's group would only put things on Facebook so there were times I had to leave and go to the shop because everyone had organised to bring a dish and noone had bothered to text or email me.

But I've found out the people who really care about me ALWAYS remember I'm not on Facebook. One friend always texts me screenshots if the mother's group decides to change plans. Others send me texts or call or email. I've worked out who my real friends are because they are the ones who make an effort.

That said I felt very excluded from my workplace on Maternity leave (may not have if I'd checked Facebook who knows?). And it is lovely for photos between family. But then again we have a secure app called WhatsApp where we have a family account to share photos and we own the photos.

Hmmm nope I think overall my decision was the right one for me. I'd rather live in the real world. At least I know if I pick up the phone in desperation my friends will come and help me.

But that's just my opinion. Others are equally as valid.

[Doolhof]

Hi Quercus and All,

It is interesting how so many people do rely on Facebook as a way of communicating and keeping in touch. I guess for some people it is a lot easier. You can send a message and it certainly gets out there very quickly.

If I had looked at Facebook yesterday I would have known what was happening for Fire Training as they post on a special Facebook post.

Where we live, our mobile phones don't work very well so even text messages are rather useless. People don't seem to use the home phone very much, guess if I pick up the phone, then the person wanting to leave a message has to actually talk! Ha. Ha.

Facebook for me certainly has its benefits. I am very fortunate I don't have people posting nasty stuff on there, or if they do, I just ignore it.

Cheers all from Mrs. D.