Facebook Causes Isolation

Introduction

There is an ongoing debate about the extent of social isolation in America. A widely-reported 2006 study argued that since 1985 Americans have become more socially isolated, the size of their discussion networks has declined and the diversity of those people with whom they discuss important matters has decreased. In particular, the study found that Americans have fewer close ties to those from their neighborhoods and from voluntary associations. New technologies, such as the internet and mobile phones, may play a role in advancing this trend (Partridge 42).

The more friends one has on Facebook is more likely to suffer from stress and anxiety problems that are found in a group of students from Napier University in Edinburgh Scotland, to analyze the psychological effects of the social network (Partridge 42). Another study warned of dangers of Facebook as the social network could push vulnerable young people into a severe depression, warns the American Academy of Pediatrics, tended mainly by self-doubt, plagued young people who meet with their peers to create long lists of friends and tons of photos of partying people (Partridge 42).

The virtual world could be far more depressing than real depressing encounters, such as when you sit alone in a crowded school cafeteria, says Gwenn O Keefe for online nobody sees the facial expressions or gestures of the people - i.e. the body language that allows classifying the situation. In comparison, Facebook provides a grossly distorted picture of reality (Partridge 42). According to the journal Pediatrics published recommendations, parents should be the threat of Facebook depression to be aware and talk to their children about the network. The same applies to Internet bullying and the growing Sexting, so sending nude photos via SMS. Online predators and secondly depression and anxiety are the major causes that increases the need to decide what age of children should be allowed to use Facebook (Partridge 42).

Discussion

There are many websites on the Internet that now allow people of all ages to create their own profiles in order to meet other people who may or may not live near them (Engdahl 10). MySpace, one of the most popular social networking websites, currently has 76 million users and that number continues to grow everyday by the thousands. Facebook, a popular social networking site among college students, averages 250 million hits every day (Engdahl 10). The media has been discussing the dangers of social networking sites more frequently in the recent months; this has led to many people wanting to ban social networking sites (Engdahl 10). Others would use these sites in high numbers to think about what they are posting and what consequences they may face in the future because of the information posted on their social networking site. Many people also believe that social networking sites are wonderful because they allow organizations to communicate with large groups of people (Engdahl 10).

Before social networking sites appeared, people simply used chats and message boards. One of the first message boards was created in 1978 ...