Friday, October 14, 2011

Disadvantages of Using Facebook

Last week I decided to deactivate my
Facebook account. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely delete
it. Your account just become hidden until you login again. And
everything will be like it was before.

But it's better than nothing.

Using Facebook actually has a lot of
advantages. If you are searching for an old friend you have lost
contact with, chances are you will find them on Facebook.

And then there is the commercial
aspect. Facebook currently has 800 million active users. 400 Million
of those are logged in any time in the day. Think about the
possibility.

So why did I decide to close it?

Your Status Updates can
Potentionally Ruin a Relationship

After using it for more than a year.
This social network presents some problem. I noticed that the more I
gain friends (old friends, new friends, friends from many years ago)
in my network the more I gain people who resent me.

For example, If I post a personal view,
maybe political or religious, chances are it will hit the nerves of
someone with a different opinion. They find out how different you
are. And since the foundation of your friendship is not strong yet or
not strong anymore because you haven't seen each other for a while,
they take it personally and they resent it. And so you just lost a
friend in a bad way. And you don't have any chance to patch it
because you don't have the opportunity to meet just like before.

The funny thing is, if I posted the
same thing in a personal blog, it will not attract such reaction. I
wonder why?

Maybe because if you post, something it
feels like you are directly talking to someone. And who ever felt comfortable being told by a mere peer.

Unlike blog post which feels like
directed at any random people who happen to come by.

Not Liking Someones Post
Consistently Can also Ruin a Relationship

I've observe that some people like to
post a lot. And if you consistently do not react and you don't click
the 'Like Button', they begin to feel that you don't like them at
all.

Likewise if you post something and
nobody reacted it feels like you just talked to air.

It's a bad feeling really for everyone.

Games are a Time Consuming
Distractions

One of the reasons that made Facebook
successful are the presence of online games: Farmville, Fronterville,
CafeWorld, Backyard Monsters to name just a few.

The problem with these games is that
you constantly have to return to them to make any progress. In some
you need to invite new friends to join the game during every new
level.

I was playing Backyard Monster before I
deactivated my account. The object of the game is world conquest and
I progressed enough that I now have 31 outposts. So I really became
one of the strongest players in my Map. But the problem is – it now
takes more than an hour just to tend all those 31 outposts. And if
you just leave them unattended, a lot of game resources will be
wasted. Add to that you never know if someone might be attacking your
bases while you are away. You also have to watch for that.

Other social games have similar
problem. The more you increase in level the more it becomes a chore
to tend your account.

And then you have your other friends
who are making game requests not just in one game but in several
games.

And so you are committed to check
everyday or else you will be left behind.

But isn't games intended to help you
relax and unwind instead of giving you more work which are not
essential to your personally life.

Spending to much time on Facebook
checking Friend Status

You can also waste your watching the
statuses of your friends. Checking out what they are currently doing.
People like news that is why news websites are the most visited sites
on the internet. What more if you are checking on your friends.

Meeting Old Friends You wished You
would have Never Met Again

People change. You may be okay with
each other when you were younger but your childhood friends may have
acquired some bad attitude since last you met.

They may have become judgemental or
simple annoying that there will be situations that you wish that you
never met them again at all so that you can preserve the good
memories you have together.

You Don't really have Control over
your own Content while Facebook is making a profit of it

Try deactivating your account. You will
find out that you will not be able to delete it. It is still there
just hidden.

They might say it is for convenience
incase you change your mind and return.

But what if I really want to erase
everything.

Another is about my upates and photos.

If you like to travel or if you want to
share something, I believe it is better for you to post it in your
own blog.

Who knows your blog may prove to be
popular and you start attracting advertisers. Or someone might like
your work and they hire you for a certain job.

If you are blogging on Facebook, you
can't take advantage of this opportunity because in the end Facebook
owns their website and you are just renting their resources for free.

If ever an advertiser is interested to
advertiser on your page, they will talk to Facebook not you.

You might say you are really doing
these updates for personal reasons anyway. But still it is an
opportunity lost.

Not Completely Getting Out

And so I've deactivated my Facebook account.
But it doesn't mean I am getting off it completely. You just can't
ignore 800 Million active users. I do have another account that I use for marketing purposes.

But I will distance my
personal life and personal information. There is just too much hassle
and too many privacy concerns.