Now, I've only used Facebook for about a couple of years or so, and in the time that I've used it, I've found it to be a very overrated social networking website.
That's my basic feelings of it, but I also have other negative feelings towards the website and some of its features that a lot of people don't seem to talk about or even care about.
First of all, the friends list. Now, I understand why they exist because when you're logged into a website, you want to know if your friends are online and would like to communicate with them (hence the reason you added them as friends). The problem with Facebook's friends list (though this is more down to the user, not Facebook itself) is that many people on it simply use it to gain popularity for themselves, rather than make actual friends. I mean, honestly, why do you add people to your friends list if you're not going to communicate with them? Isn't that the whole point of social networking?
Second, the amount of abusive and sometimes offensive material. I was watching a documentary on BBC Three the other night called The Anti-Social Network, and it basically showed people who had defaced such Facebook pages such as trubute pages, and even wrote threatening messages to people, even if they don't know them. Again, this is to do with the people who use it, but Facbook has an obligation to punish people who do this kind of thing on the site, and yet they continue to do absolutely nothing about some of this offensive content, simply stating that these offensive messages and pictures are in line with freedom of speech and expression. How is making fun of a deceased schoolchild freedom of speech and expression? How is sending threatening messages freedom of speech and expression? If I was to talk to Mark Zuckerberg, I would tell him to stop giving people who do this kind of stuff the power to continue doing this because its offensive, disgraceful and disgusting. I understand freedom of speech and I am proud that we as citizens have this, but there's a difference between the right to freedom of speech and abusing the right of freedom of speech.
And finally, the 'Like' buttons. This might sound strange to many, as well as a petty issue to complain about considering everything else I have written, but I hate these buttons. Everywhere you go on the website, there are 'Like' buttons all over the place. I hate this just as much as I hate the Like/Dislike bars on YouTube because both of them are gimmicky and pointless to have. Why? Because they add nothing at all and quite frankly, they don't even mean anything, so why bother having these buttons? To know how many people like a certain thing? Why not just have the comments decide whether people like somthing or not? Or if you really want to find a way to rate something, how about a simple five star function so people can rate it out of 5 stars? YouTube should do this as well.
Anyway, those are my feelings on this matter, but how about your feelings? Do you feel the same way? Do you disagree? Do you have a different opinion on the matter? Just post your comments in this thread and let me know what you think of Facebook.
That's my basic feelings of it, but I also have other negative feelings towards the website and some of its features that a lot of people don't seem to talk about or even care about.
First of all, the friends list. Now, I understand why they exist because when you're logged into a website, you want to know if your friends are online and would like to communicate with them (hence the reason you added them as friends). The problem with Facebook's friends list (though this is more down to the user, not Facebook itself) is that many people on it simply use it to gain popularity for themselves, rather than make actual friends. I mean, honestly, why do you add people to your friends list if you're not going to communicate with them? Isn't that the whole point of social networking?
Second, the amount of abusive and sometimes offensive material. I was watching a documentary on BBC Three the other night called The Anti-Social Network, and it basically showed people who had defaced such Facebook pages such as trubute pages, and even wrote threatening messages to people, even if they don't know them. Again, this is to do with the people who use it, but Facbook has an obligation to punish people who do this kind of thing on the site, and yet they continue to do absolutely nothing about some of this offensive content, simply stating that these offensive messages and pictures are in line with freedom of speech and expression. How is making fun of a deceased schoolchild freedom of speech and expression? How is sending threatening messages freedom of speech and expression? If I was to talk to Mark Zuckerberg, I would tell him to stop giving people who do this kind of stuff the power to continue doing this because its offensive, disgraceful and disgusting. I understand freedom of speech and I am proud that we as citizens have this, but there's a difference between the right to freedom of speech and abusing the right of freedom of speech.
And finally, the 'Like' buttons. This might sound strange to many, as well as a petty issue to complain about considering everything else I have written, but I hate these buttons. Everywhere you go on the website, there are 'Like' buttons all over the place. I hate this just as much as I hate the Like/Dislike bars on YouTube because both of them are gimmicky and pointless to have. Why? Because they add nothing at all and quite frankly, they don't even mean anything, so why bother having these buttons? To know how many people like a certain thing? Why not just have the comments decide whether people like somthing or not? Or if you really want to find a way to rate something, how about a simple five star function so people can rate it out of 5 stars? YouTube should do this as well.
Anyway, those are my feelings on this matter, but how about your feelings? Do you feel the same way? Do you disagree? Do you have a different opinion on the matter? Just post your comments in this thread and let me know what you think of Facebook.
