THE PROS AND CONS OF FACEBOOK

Facebook is the most popular social networking site of all time. Within six years, Facebook has experienced dramatic growth—it has reached more than a billion users and is still growing rapidly.

For many, Facebook has become an integral part of day-to-day life. However, while the social media site can be very useful, it's important to avoid becoming addicted to it. This article features a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of using Facebook in your everyday life.

Did You Know?

1. Facebook.com, fb.com, and thefacebook.com all open the same site.

2. To find the official pages of Facebook founders, add "4," "5," or "6" to the end of facebook.com/. For example, facebook.com/4 will take you to the official page of Mark Zuckerberg.

3. More than 250 billion photographs have been uploaded to Facebook.

4. Facebook needs several exabyte servers to store all of the information uploaded by its billion users. One exabyte = one billion gigabytes

1. Facebook is free—and not only that, but it's also one of the best mediums for communication. You can send messages, start a video call, and upload photos and videos without charge.
2. Facebook lets you connect to different people from anywhere in the world. People everywhere these days are familiar with Facebook. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about the culture, values, customs, and traditions of other countries—a modern-day pen-pal service without the hassle. It also helps keep long distance relationships alive. Sometimes these across-the-world relationships get serious and even end up in marriage—a testament to the power of this social media platform.
3. Facebook is the most convenient tool for finding old buddies and keeping friendships alive. Often when friends move away it’s difficult to keep communicating with them. Facebook
   provides the opportunity to easily communicate with your old friends and keep up-to-date one what they're doing. It's fun to see their photos from around the world!
4. It's an easy way to share feelings and what's happening in your daily life. You can share your achievements to get some appreciation, or you can share your sorrows to get support from your generous friends.
5. The site has good privacy settings, allowing you to choose your desired level of privacy.
6. Facebook fan pages, groups, events, etc. are getting more popular by the day. Fan pages and groups are very handy for promotional activities. This is why almost every well-known brand has a Facebook fan page and is investing lot of money to get exposure to their core constituents.
7. Facebook groups can also be a great way to connect all of your close friends. You can create a group and keep it private in the group's settings. Features like group chat, notifications, file sharing, etc. can help you communicate and stay up-to-date easily.
8. Facebook now also offers you an email address, another handy feature. These email works just like Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook, and Hotmail, allowing you to send and receive email with users both within and outside of the site. The email address is based on your Facebook user name. For example, if your username is "Ding Dong," your Facebook email address will be "DingDong@facebook.com." You can also receive files attachment through Facebook email.
9. The newsfeed plays a very important role in getting the latest information. Facebook fan pages and users are constantly sharing articles, photos, and videos.
10. If you're a business, the site also allows you to advertise. Fan pages are very helpful for a successful marketing campaign, because they allow potential consumers to engage, stay informed, and share with friends.
11. You can chat both online and on your phone with Facebook messenger. For students who don't yet have a mobile device, this messenger can be downloaded as an app on an iPod or tablet and used just like text messenging in areas with WiFi.
12. Many popular celebrities and organizations are using Facebook to give regular updates to their fans, allowing you to feel closer to them than ever.
13. Students can use Facebook for group study by creating a group only for studying. There, you can share information about your projects, homework, assignments, exams, due dates, etc.
14. Relationships can blossom on Facebook. For long distance couples, the easy communication can help keep the love alive all the time they're apart. The site can even help people eventually tie the knot.
15. Facebook online games are popular and addicting. There are millions of users who regularly engage in these games.
16. Besides the games, there are thousands of applications, quizzes, etc. available.
17. You can also use the site to create your own social media platform. Share your article, blogs, photos, etc. to thousands of people.
18. Facebook's like button connects you to many other websites. If you see a like button on another website, you can click it to like it on Facebook, making it more likely for your friends to see it in their own news feeds.
19. Your login ID means that you don't need to waste your time for registering other sites. Most sites and apps now allow you to instantly register by logging in with your Facebook account.
20. Facebook is well-designed! There are no distracting colors or designs available. Facebook's simple design and efficient performance made it the world's dominant social site

Disadvantages of Facebook

Now it's time to talk about some disadvantages of Facebook. Anything, no matter how helpful, has its downsides. Some of the main disadvantages of this site are:

1. Facebook is addicting! For some people, Facebook can be as habit-forming as cigarettes! Facebook is a useful and helpful tool, but it becomes harmful if you begin wasting your valuable time. This is the site's biggest disadvantage, because the loss of your precious time can lead to other problems.
2. There are fake profiles and IDs. Now it is easier to create fake profiles using stolen pictures. People often use fake profiles to insult or harass someone they don't like.Teen girls are the most vulnerable to these activities. There have been several news stories about people, normally students, who became depressed or suicidal after being harassed on Facebook.
3. There are plenty of groups and fan pages out there that condone extremist, unaccepting points of view. These are being created to abuse or violate other religions, personalities, nationalities, etc. This kind of discriminatory and often racist activity is not acceptable on a global site like Facebook. If you see a site like this, report it. Facebook administrators should take necessary steps against all of these abusive groups and pages.
4. Certain Facebook activities have fueled conflict between social media-savvy couples. According to a recent study, around a third of divorce filings in recent years have contained the word "Facebook." Posts, pictures, and geo-tags that indicate a partner might not be telling the truth can be used as evidence in the divorce process.
5. Too much time on the site has been correlated with bad grades, or student results. Students who don't study or pay attention in class do not get good marks in their exams unless they cheat or are way too smart for the class in the first place!
6. People can stalk you and get your personal information. It is highly recommended not to share your personal information publicly.
7. Not only students, but also people working in offices can waste time on Facebook. That's why many offices have decided to block the site from their networks completely.
8. Many people have lost their usernames because their accounts were falsely reported. This is something Facebook administrators should be more careful about. However, you can get your username back with a government-issued ID.
9. Facebook chat often has glitches.
10. Different sources have found that Facebook can be life-threatening at times. Unknown people can track your activities and see where you are when. So be careful about whom you add as a friend. It's also a good idea to keep you activities private to people who are not your friends.
11. Facebook has also been at the center of some very violent news stories. One mother killed her child because it was crying in hunger while she was browsing Facebook, and a husband killed his wife because she changed her relationship status. These acts are rare but happen in extreme cases. More frequent are accidents caused by people not paying attention while looking at Facebook on their phones.