Love it or hate it Facebook still remains the ‘Granddaddy’ of social networking sites out there today. I was first introduced to Facebook by a friend who over-eagerly tried to convince me it was the best thing since ‘sliced bread’ and suggested that I should open an account immediately. I was very sceptical of the whole idea, as I believed me and my uneventful life didn’t need to be advertised to the world, until, I began to realise how immensely popular and widespread it was becoming, it seemed its name was everywhere throughout the media and was always the topic of conversation wherever I went.
To avoid being cast out as a social leper between my friends, I bowed into my own curiosity and opened up an account. Thankfully the interface was not a complicated one, which made it less daunting to navigate and immediately set it apart from the disgusting personalised wallpaper schemes common in MySpace. It didn’t take me to long to realise the advantages that could be had by using this networking site, but fast forward to today I realised that they are outweighed by the disadvantages.
I believe Facebook has somewhat lost its identity and credibility, no longer is it viewed as a social networking site, it’s more of virtual playground to be anti-social. There are endless tales of how it has reeked havoc into the lives of some folks, Relationships torn apart, Stalkers, running feuds, intimidation/bullying, not to mention the way it can be used in a ‘big brother’ way for employers or authorities to keep their watchful eye on you.
In addition to this, Facebook could be a better experience all-round if the following was made:-
• Have a better internal chat system that is less prone to crashing.
• Do more to stop the annoying ‘piggy back’ applications that steal profile information.
• Stop potential child exploitation by exercising a stringent age verification system to stop underage minors from gaining access and sharing info.
• Adopt a database system that totally eradicates all traces of your information when your account is deactivated.
• Make less ‘tweaks’ that often bewilder its users when made.
• Better tighten its security against hackers who easily infiltrate user’s accounts.
I assert that the way Facebook is now perceived, it won’t be long until another social networking giant comes and knocks it down from its lofty perch.
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