Facebook was developed by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard University pals in 2004. It was originally restricted to Harvard University, but it quickly spread to nearby institutions and then to the majority of the US and Canada. The social networking site reached almost every region of the globe within a few years of its founding, having a significant impact on the lives of numerous individuals. Facebook is used by about 80% of undergraduate students in the US. Facebook is an innovation that has changed how people socially relate with each other, withthe provision of a chance for them to share ideas and sentiments. The platform has also enabled people to create and uphold relationships. Users have the ability to create their profile, show their individual information as well as access to other peoples’ profiles. Interaction is also enabled bythe capacity to send messages to friends (Kalpidou et al. 183).
Some people, especially the younger generation spend a lot of time on Facebook on activities such as chatting and searching on different topics. It is only in the recent times when the impact of Facebook has been carried out. Studies done in colleges have revealed that addiction to the site resembles drug addiction, affect the family relationship and contribute to health problems such as depression, respiratory complications, and narcissism. The social networking site exposes users to mental health complications. Spending too much time online leads to addiction to some activities on the internet.
In some severe cases, Facebook addiction has been termed as the internet spectrum disorder, which is under similar scale to game addiction and pornography obsession. The Facebook addiction symptoms are akin to those experienced by people addicted to drugs and other substances. They include changes in moods (mood swings), the cover-up of addictive actions, and withdrawal symptoms when the use of Facebook is blocked or restricted. The users also tend to go back to overuse of the social networking site after abstaining for a period (Elgendi 10).
The Most Affected Group of Users
College students overspend their valuable time on the social networking site, which would otherwise be invested in other important activities in their lives. The situation occurs because the college students are free to spend their time, as they desire, as there is limited supervision, unlike the high school life. An average college student spends approximately 106 minutes of Facebook per day, which culminates to six times per day and spending 24 minutes for each visit (Pempek et al. 229). College students spend a significant amount of this time updating status, sharing links, commenting, chatting, checking up, posting and viewing photos.
The Resulting Effects of Excessive Usage
Studies have shown that overspending time on Facebook has led to declining in learning among students in colleges and universities. This is because the students are not experienced in time management. Overspending time on the social networking site has impacted their studies negatively which has led to declining grades. A study conducted by Dr. Rey Junco at Lock Haven University indicates that academic performance is inversely proportional to Facebook usage. Students who used Facebook for every 93 minutes above the average of 106 per day registered a reduction in Grade Point Average (GPA) by 0.12 (Junco et al. 281). The data is depicted in the graph below.
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Number of Minutes spent on Facebook
GPA
Source: British Journal of Educational Technology
According to the graph indicates, Ray Junco believes that the more the amount of time spent on Facebook, the lower the GPA. This is because students who spend more time on the social media site do not get enough time to read and prepare for their exams. A study conducted by The Miriam Hospital´s Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine came to the same conclusion. Miriam Hospital indicated that although Facebook could play a role in future networking among college graduates, it was cited as a great distraction to class attendance, reported incomplete assignments, and this eventually led to lower GPAs and other negative academic outcomes (Boyer and Karen 91).
There needs to be an effort to educate the college students about the dangers of addiction to Facebook. Use of the app has positive impact on users, but they should be aware of the downsides of the social networking site. Furthermore, educators should try to embrace Facebook rather than competing with it. They can use the platform to reduce students’ use ((Boyer and Karen 91). Professors can achieve this by integrating the site into the classroom to remind students of their assignments, connect them with their classmates, and provide links to viable academic resources that can help them in their studies.
Digital Technology: Mobile Phones
A mobile phone is a portable telephone, which is used for wireless communication over long distances. Cell phones were first made in the 1950s but they large and cumbersome. They were fixed in cars. During the late 20th century, mobile phone technology advanced, which allowed people to carry their phones quickly. Cell phones work by being connected to a particular cell which enables it to receive communication. It can only be connected to one cell at a time.
Mobile phones represent a revolutionary technology which has helped people to advance in life. Cell phones are used by almost all members of the society for different purposes. They are found in almost aspects of life in the modern world. Mobile phones facilitate communication. People can easily communicate with each in any location at any time. Business communication is facilitated where people can make trade contracts without necessarily meeting physically. A manager can also communicate with the employees and suppliers. Mobile phones have reduced in size and weight which has made it easy to carry them around, making them convenient for communication. Cell phones offer a wide variety of entertainment services. Users of smartphones can access music, video games and the internet services for entertainment services. The other advantage of mobile phones is that they can be used in for educational purposes both by college students and other users. Contemporary cell phones have useful operating systems such as Android and IOS, which have significant applications for education purposes (Soffar 1).
On the other hand, cell phones have downsides. While mobile phones are useful in education, there is a danger of cellphone addiction, especially by teenage students. They may overspend time playing games or interacting with friends through social media. This leads to deterioration of their academic grades. The other disadvantage of mobile phones is the adverse effect on users’ health. People who drive while talking on the cell phones are at a high risk of involvement in car accidents. Prolonged use of mobile phones has been associated with adverse implications for peoples’ health due radiations emitted by mobile devices and the screen light (Soffar 2).
In a nutshell, mobile phones have been proven to be useful gadgets in human lives which are used in daily life for diverse purposes. Without them, the world would be a dull place languishing in backwardness. Nevertheless, cell phones have some disadvantages. Mobile phones should be used appropriately for maximum benefit.
Works Cited
Boyer, Carol A., and Karen E. Lutfey. "Examining critical health policy issues within and beyond the clinical encounter: patient-provider relationships and help-seeking behaviors." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 51.1_suppl (2010): S80-S93.
Elgendi, Hager. The Effect of Facebook on College Students.2015; 5(2) International Journal of Networks and Communications.http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ijnc.20150502.03.html
Fu-Yuan, Hong and Chiu Su-Lin. "Factors Influencing Facebook Usage and Facebook Addictive Tendency in University Students: The Role of Online Psychological Privacy and Facebook Usage Motivation." Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, vol. 32, no. 2, Apr. 2016, pp. 117-127. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=114455158&site=ehost-live.
Junco, Reynol, C. Michael Elavsky, and Greg Heiberger. "Putting twitter to the test: Assessing outcomes for student collaboration, engagement and success." British Journal of Educational Technology 44.2 (2013): 273-287.
Kalpidou, Maria, Dan Costin, and Jessica Morris. "The Relationship between Facebook and the Well-Being of Undergraduate College Students." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 14.4 (2011): 183-189. Print.
Pempek, Tiffany A., Yevdokiya A. Yermolayeva, and Sandra L. Calvert. "College students' social networking experiences on Facebook." Journal of applied developmental psychology 30.3 (2009): 227-238.
Soffar, Heba. The advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones; published on May 9, 2015,https://www.online-sciences.com/mobile/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-mobile-phones/
