FACEHOOKED: Is Facebook consuming college students’ lives?
By Crystal Abrell | Opinion Editor
According to a Sept. 7 Web site article by techcrunch.com, 85 percent of college students use Facebook. Out of that percentage, 60 percent of college students log onto Facebook daily. That is a huge number in comparison to the 50 percent of college students who ever open their $500 textbooks.
Facebook was created by former Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg as an online dictionary that could “connect people through social networks,” stated by a Sept. 11 Web article by trinitytripod.com. Before Facebook, the normal college students’ daily routine was eat, sleep and study. Routines have literally changed to eat, Facebook, sleep, Facebook, study and more Facebook. Even I am a victim of this Facebook plague. Ironically enough, as I sit and write this article I have Facebook pulled up on another tab…
Sorry! I got distracted. Jamie broke up with Josh, my BFF commented on her ex-boyfriend’s picture and Friday my new crush is throwing a bash that I have to make an appearance at!
Lets get back on track.
What makes Facebook a drug to almost all college students? Lets admit it, deep down we are all social creatures and love the drama.
There is just something about the thrill of logging onto your home page and seeing all your friends and enemies’ statuses, pictures, posts, comments and videos. Lets face it, nothing is more interesting than checking out what the girl/guy that tried talking to your boyfriend/girlfriend is or is not doing. At times it seems as if Facebook was created just to distract college students and make them procrastinate.
We all secretly have a love-hate relationship with this technological phenomenon. Facebook is perfect when you have an hour to kill between classes, but can also be your worst enemy when you have only an hour to study before an exam.
Believe it or not, Facebook can even be emotionally draining. At times it almost seems to be a juvenile popularity contest. Who has the most friends? Who has the most pictures or posts?
Facebook has almost become a secondary form of communication next to e-mail and cell phones. There is always that one person in your class that you need to get a hold of and you don’t have their number. Sadly enough, it is almost a guarantee that you can easily stalk them on Facebook and send them a message.
One of the things we don’t realize is Facebook can be a dangerous tool for predators. People can now temporarily hack your account via a virus long enough to send a strange post out to all of your friends, resulting in a lockdown on your account. If Facebook creepers can get on your account, imagine all the information they can gather on you.
Indeed, Facebook can be the best medicine to aid a case of boredom, but the negative affects can almost outweigh the positive.
 
 