I have some friends and family that think Facebook is “bad”, “evil”, and will only get you in trouble. Your boss or potential employer can look at your Facebook page and make decisions on your employment based on stuff you posted on Facebook. To that I say “phhtttttt”
Yes there are young people out there that don’t have the good sense to adjust their privacy settings so that only who they want to see can see what they post. They take inappropriate pictures and post them. They talk about things they shouldn’t, etc, etc. Although this may be mainly a younger generation trait, its not limited to them. I’ve seen some things posted by adults that make me wonder. But as a mature grown adult I don’t worry about these things. My privacy settings are defaulted to where only my friends can see my post. Plus sometimes I post things and change the settings so only a certain group sees them. Group settings for your friends, another feature I like and use.
One thing I love about Facebook is the feeling of community. I am able to stay in touch with relatives that I don’t get to see often. I’ve reconnected with classmates that I haven’t seen in years and would not have any idea where they are or what they’ve been up to. I’m really good friends with people I just knew in passing or maybe we’re friends on Facebook simply because we grew up in the same area and went to the same high school. I’ve made friends out of strangers playing silly Facebook games that hold no value at all other than to use up my free time. All of these people are a constant part of my day to day life. I value each of them.
A really welcomed feature of Facebook that I hadn’t considered at all until recently was the ability to keep up with someone who was going through a difficult health issue. I have a friend who spent most of last week in the hospital trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Yesterday he had open heart surgery to replace a bad valve in his heart. I was concerned about him as were a whole lot of other people. It was nice that there was someone at the hospital who kept us posted on the going on’s yesterday as he was prepared for and completed the surgery.
Sometimes when someone is in the hospital, you’re not sure if they are up for visitors. He was able to post while undergoing test, that he wasn’t up for visitors, but would appreciate phone calls. No one’s feelings were hurt, he didn’t have to feel the need to “entertain” visitors. He just threw it out there and everyone respected his wishes.
Today I’m having lunch with someone that I lost track of over the years, but we reconnected on Facebook. Its fun to talk and find up what they have been up to the last 20 or 30 years. Facebook has some issues, but mainly I think you just have to be aware of what you put out there and who has access to it. Facebook is a real living community and I’m glad I have it.