Facebook crazy

If there’s one thing that 1 in 13 people in the world have in common nowadays, it’s the fact that they all have Facebook. While the fact that Facebook exists is certainly no secret to the world, I think the extent to which many people are using it would absolutely blow people’s minds to look at on paper. Facebook was originally created for students of Harvard to network and circulate amongst each other, while gradually adding other universities into the mix, until it all became one unit. Many other people began joining Facebook to keep in touch with old friends, long-distance family, and etc. But rather recently, in the opinions of many, Facebook has become out of control. The whole purpose is just being abused by (again, in many opinions) people with nothing else to do. There are many “Facebook personas” that people can easily be classified into, and if one took a look at their own friends list, it would be quite simple to separate each friend into their own individual group, or most anyway; however, there are far too many of these online personalities to name them all, so the following are just to name a few. One very popular persona is the person who uses their Facebook as a diary, frequently posting things that would qualify as “TMI” or “WTF” moments, also classified as the complainer. The complainer is famous for taking the “What’s on your mind?” question in the status box a little bit too literally. A very similar persona is that of the person who logs onto Facebook and gives all who will take the time to read a play-by-play of their day, for example, “Shower, breakfast, getting ready, school, lunch, practice, dentist, homework, dinner, movies, then bed! Wow, got a long day ahead of me!” This is what many would consider a direct misuse of Facebook. The second is the drama starter- mostly someone who posts statuses, usually also complaining or just simply ripping someone apart, without using names, but the recipient to the abuse is usually a clear shot, which 9 times out of 10 turns into a knockdown, drag-out status comment war (these people usually include, but are not limited to, high school students.) Leah Davis, a student at Onondaga Community College, explains her thoughts on Facebook fights, “They’re completely useless, no one ever wins and everyone just pretends to be someone they’re not. Just when you think you won a Facebook fight you realize you’ve been verbally abusing someone from the comfort of your own home and behind a computer screen (*laughs*).” While all of these Facebook users are equally annoying, these are not the only abusive behaviors committed on Facebook, because there are simply too many to name, but just to list off just a few more, we all have: the excessive photo uploader, the “trying too hard to be funny and not succeeding guy,” the aunt or other older relative that feels the need to comment on anything you post/are tagged in, and last but not least, the “friend” we all have, the one that goes out on the weekend and decides to document every drunken mishap. While there are still many people that use Facebook for what it was created for, staying in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances, the ones who abuse it are appearing to far surpass the innocent. “People just take Facebook way too far, you don’t even need to have talked to someone in years and you could know every detail of their life,” says Nathan George, a freshman at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. That statement couldn’t be truer. Without even ever seeing someone in person you could know everything about them, right down to the outfits they wear each day (see: excessive photo uploader). So, if while reading this a thought entered your mind that maybe you might be guilty of committing any of these offenses, take this advice: set the computer/smartphone aside for a little while, perhaps you could read a book, purchase a diary, or take your dog for a walk, anything to get your eyes off the computer screen; it’s for your own good, and your Facebook friends will thank you.