Facebook Status Updates and Comments

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“Here at the mall, eating.”

“Just got home, having a snack.”

“Sleeping…zzzz.”

These and other seemingly insane status updates seem to crop up on the giant time-suck that is Facebook, one of the Internet’s most popular invention yet.

Yes, Facebook does allow you to connect to your long-lost uncle’s uncle’s cousin’s son whom you don’t even want to get to know in real life, but it has other problems with real life as well: mainly, you not having one.

Stats from the site itself proudly announce that “people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook”. Hmmm… Let’s see. What is 700 billion minutes?

• It should have been the time spent with your dog, playing catch. Or with your children for that matter.
• It should have been time spent learning a useful hobby, such as fixing leaks in your toilet.
• The time you could have spent for watering the garden you planned on starting.
• The time you could have spent looking for a job online.
• Time for family, friends, and REAL LIFE ACTIVITIES such as getting down and dirty…with sports.

True, the 700 billion minutes ( 2010 Facebook statistical info ) aren’t for a single person (there are only 40,320 minutes in a month). But imagine if these minutes where from people who were actually employed in a large company. Instead of yielding a case or an article in less than two hours, employees lessen their productivity with the compulsion that is Facebook.

Even now, as you read this article, you might be among the 800 million who are addicted to the social networking site, ready to give up five minutes of fruitful work for a little peek at what Rob has done today or who’s bickering with whom. Facebook has just replaced the kick of computer games and the drama of TV with the agonizingly monotonous report of certain people about every detail of their lives.

The status on most user profiles doesn’t even provide useful knowledge, yet people are willing to read through the whole page instead of tuning in to websites that starch up on current events and education. What do you get from the 200-something characters showing up on screen? Facts for starting your own business? Remedies for bronchitis? No. Only some blah which you would have known through cellphone text anyway. Yes, somewhere an internet cafe is filled with Facebooking individuals, while the library and actual mouths are left dry.

Instead of posting on Facebook, why not talk? Why not dial up a friend and start a conversation with voice? Oh wait, there’s Skype. Instead of “www.facebook.com”, why not spruce up on your literature?

There are numerous other issues with Facebook as well. Some trusting teens and elderly get their identities stolen, simply by giving too much away with on their Facebook profile.  Your real name, the company you work for, and your age leave nothing to the scammer’s imagination. Sometimes being friendly gets you real close to danger.

And what about the awkwardness with your student or boss, doesn’t Facebook blur the line between close friends and plain acquaintances?

The last straw is the enormous possibility of being stalked (which some egocentric individuals might enjoy immensely). Do you really want to give away information on where you are right now? What if someone’s watching your house, and is logged into Facebook?

No…, if you can’t keep your privacy, then you’re giving away your security with Facebook as well.