Veronica Rainone 06/11/2012 Facebook: A Detrimental Facet of Young Peoples Lives There are seven billion people residing

in the world, each with their own individual thoughts and lives cohabitating together on this great expanse of Earth. Of these seven billion humans, approximately one billion of them are sharing their lives on a social network known as Facebook. Facebook is an online website where people create a profile, post photos, socialize with friends, and play games in an interactive blogosphere. With nearly a billion people as active users of Facebook, over one hundred fifty million are young people. One would believe that it is a site filled with positives, and grants a young user benefits that they otherwise would not receive. While this aforementioned thought is true, albeit to an extent the adverse effects far outweigh Facebooks benefits. Facebook is a harmful tool that causes health problems, and social problems in young adults. One of Facebooks key demographics is young adults, or teenagers. (Murphy, Clare) These teens display their entire lives on Facebook, devoting a myriad of hours to liking and commenting on other users posts. Their usage of Facebook is habitual, and constant; often never refraining from a day of this practice. With the technological innovation of smart phones, they now dont even need a computer to purvey this site, instead being able to take it on the go with Facebooks mobile application. This behavior is likened by many to that of an addict, an often when a user abstains from Facebook for a short period of time, they begin to suffer from withdrawal symptoms including; frantic cravings, anxiety and jitters (Conger, Cristen). Facebook does not merely cause addiction in its young users, it also can cause a litany of mental health problems. Esteemed scientist Susan Greenfield recently presented a study where

tests showed that young users of Facebook had shorter attention spans than those who did not use Facebook. (Mackey, Robert) Psychologist, Dr Aric Sigman made the claim that Facebook in fact weakened a persons immune system. This is due to the sanitization of human interaction, with a large quantity originally taking place face to face, now being conducted behind a computer. Dr Sigman states that; Increased isolation could alter the way genes work and upset immune responses, hormone levels and the function of arteries. It could also impair mental performance. This could increase the risk of problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease and dementia. A persons social interactions (conducted physically), play a pivotal role in the development of genes involved with the immune system. Levels of hormones such as the 'cuddle chemical' oxytocin, which promotes bonding, altered according to whether people were in close contact or not causing there to be a difference between "real presence" and the virtual variety Aside from health problems, Facebook can cause a wide array of social detriments. Because of its promotion of online interaction, more and more communication is being conducted via computer, and less and less is being performed in person. This migration of socialization is engendering young people who are more comfortable speaking through Facebook, to develop less than stellar people skills. This is causing an increased amount of people to become socially awkward. Dr. Sigman revealed that; 'In less than two decades, the number of people saying there is no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled. Another expert on this subject, Lady Greenfield stated that social interactions conducted through computer screens are fundamentally different from spoken conversations, are far more perilous than electronic interactions because they occur in real time, with no opportunity to think up clever or witty responses.( Derbyshire. Denise) While in this present

time, people are still able to engage in physical interaction, Facebook may soon create a world where that form of communication is impossible for many to undertake. Lady Greenfield makes a dire prediction in which; in the same way mankind has abandoned the practice of hunting, killing, and skinning their own meat for the alternative of purchasing it at a supermarket humans will abandon the practice of physical interactions for the Facebook alternative; Perhaps future generations will recoil with similar horror at the messiness, unpredictability and immediate personal involvement of a three-dimensional, real-time interaction. (Derbyshire. Denise) Facebook, along with stunting the development of social skills, also fosters the development of a young persons self-centeredness, and encourages their need for instant gratification. In the same way that babies need constant reassurance, young Facebook users brains are becoming infantilized into small children who live for the moment. (Murphy, Clare) With Facebooks system of posting comments, and pictures that generate likes, and follow-up remarks almost instantly, young people are beginning to expect this level of devotion in the world outside of the computer. This of course leads to a higher expectation of others investment into their lives, and therefore a heightened degree of narcissism. Facebook is a social networking site that has revolutionized the world of communication as we know it. It is a tool used in advertising, in interactions, and in educational pursuits. It is also a fundamental tool in a majority of young adults daily networking. Facebook however beneficial it might be to maintaining interactions poses as a detrimental instrument to an adolescents health and mentality.

Works Cited Murphy, Clare. Online Risks; from Cancer to Autism BBC News. Feb. 2009. Web. June 2012. This article found on the BBC News site aided my research in the detrimental effects that Facebook, as well as all online endeavors imbues in young users. By weakening the immune system, Facebook can cause a increased risk of cancer in its users, along with other ill effects. Sigman, Aric. How Using Facebook could raise your risk of Cancer Daily Mail. Feb 2009. Web. June 2012. This article found on the Daily mail uk website archive, went further in depth with the idea of Facebook weakening the immune systems of its users. While not directly causing any illnesses, Facebook enables these effects by decreasing the amount of time a person spends physically interacting with people. Through this genes that develop the immune system get hurt. Conger. Cristin. Is Online Social Networking Good or Bad? Discovery News. April 2010. Web. June 2012. This article which I found on the discovery news web archive spoke about the overall merits of social networking, and helping me to learn about other adverse developmental effects that it imposes on young people.

Derbyshire. Denise Social websites harm childrens brains; Chilling warning to parents from top Neuroscientist New York Times. Feb 2009. Web. June 2012. This article which I found in the New York Times web archive relayed a study from a neuroscientist who found that children who utilized facebook often developed chilling developmental and social problems, some as bad as autism. This really aided in my argument. Mackey, Robert. Is Social Networking Killing You? New York Times Feb 2009. Web. June 2012. This article which I found in the New York Times web archive, also aided in my development of a argument against Facebook, as it spoke of the negative effects Facebook spawned health wise.