by Anne Parker

Created on: February 05, 2010   Last Updated: February 06, 2010

Too Much Facebook?

Although I will admit that staying connected with friends and family through Facebook definitely has its upsides, Facebook is taking over people’s lives.

With the millions of fan pages, applications, and games that Facebook has to offer, it is very easy to become addicted to the site. But whatever happened to family game night? It has been replaced with a Farkle party on Facebook. Why should you read to your child at night when there are pumpkins to be harvested on Farmville? And why should teens do homework when they have hundreds of pages of flair to look through or their friends’ walls to write on?

I think that within the last couple of years, the computer has provided Americans with their main source of entertainment. Facebook can be helpful and fun, plus it can be very entertaining, but why be active anymore when you can get your action fix playing Mafia Wars on Facebook instead? Why call someone or bother to meet for lunch when you can just write on their wall? We have let actual human interaction be replaced by digital social networking. Sites on the Internet like Facebook have provided us with entertainment, where all we have to do is simply move our fingers and click. There are no deep thoughts provoked in this process. That is why our society as a whole is becoming less physically and mentally healthy.

I myself have actually become quite annoyed with all of my friends’ posts about how their fish on MyAquarium just had guppies. Does it really matter to me that they just opened presents from their sisters in Alpha Beta Omega on Sorority Life? No. It doesn’t. And I think that some people on Facebook are able to recognize just how ridiculous these apps are. I have had to block some of my friends’ posts from appearing on my wall because I am just so frustrated with all of the updates on who became a fan of what, who planted what, who received what type of heart, who just got hit with a pillow, etc.

Now, we all know why Facebook is so attractive to people who want easy fun, without any work or physical activity. But how much is too much? In my opinion, Facebook is fine in moderation, just as sugary foods are. So keep logging on to keep up with your friends, family, or business associates, but don’t get involved in too many games or applications that will keep you on the computer unnecessarily while you could be spending time with your children, going out with your friends, learning something new, or exercising. Americans need to learn that there is life outside of the digital world. I truly believe that interaction with other people trumps chatting, writing on friends’ walls, or sending IM’s any time.

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