Effects of Facebook on Youth and Marriage
With more than 2.07 billion active members worldwide, Facebook is one of the most well-known social networking platforms. According to studies, this media platform is the first social network to have such a large user base globally. People of all ages, including children, young adults, and married people, use Facebook. Notably, people use the site extensively for a variety of purposes including contact, socialization, as well as passing and obtaining information. Both good and negative effects on people's lives are attributed to Facebook. Increased socialization, connectivity, mood improvement, and self-esteem are just a few examples of the beneficial impacts. Also, the negative impacts include the increased prevalence of divorce cases, development of psychological disorders as well as increased distraction especially to the youths in school. For instance, studies reveal that the use of social media has significantly decreased the quality of marriage. In fact, the annual increase of Facebook users is associated with rising in divorce cases at a rate of approximately 2.18% to 4.32% (Clayton et al. 718). Therefore, this essay will discuss the effects of Facebook on youth and marriage.
Increased Ruin of Relationships through Divorce Cases
Facebook results in increased ruin of relationships through increase incidences of divorce cases especially in America. According to a survey carried out by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), more than eighty percent of the attorney generals have experienced a rise in evidence using social networks such as Facebook over the past years (Clayton et al. 719). On the same note, divorce rates based on Facebook evidences in US have increased from 2.18 percent to 4.32 percent over the past years (Clayton et al. 718). For instance, married people end up communicating with their former exes in Facebook through chatting or video calls thus bringing in a conflict. Therefore, it is evident that this social network has a negative impact on marriages through ruining the relationship of married couples.
Development of Psychological Disorders Among Youths
On the same note, Facebook causes the development of psychological disorders, especially to the youths. Some of the disorders include abnormal anxiety, excessive aggression, mania as well as anti-social behaviors. According to Kirkpatrick (289), Facebook has become an anti-social media due to increased prevalence of psychological disorders among the teens. For instance, an individual develops this behavior as a result of spending too much time on Facebook where they obtain information which is misleading and misguiding. For example, people share a lot of videos and information concerning violence and other anti-social behaviors, and as a result, youths tend to copy such kind of actions due to peer pressure thus the development of the disorders.
Distraction from Learning
Similarly, Facebook causes a lot of distraction, especially from learning. Recent surveys reveal that most of the youths especially students spend most of their times checking in their Facebook accounts to comment and like other peoples status and pictures. According to Khan (58),
Social networks grab the total attention and concentration of the students and divert it towards non educational, unethical and inappropriate actions such as useless chatting, time killing by random searching and not doing their jobs.
As a result, they end up not grasping the central concepts explained thus causing failure in examinations. Studies carried out recently revealed that students who spend most of their times on social networks perform poorly through scoring low grades (Khan 63). On the same note, their concentration level is shallow due to the low rate of retaining what they are reading.
Jealousy and Conflicts
Remarkably, jealousy and conflicts arise as a result of using social networks such as Facebook. For instance, a suspicious or jealous spouse find it easier to obtain information about the interactions of a particular person of interest. The situation is prevalent among the married or people who are dating. According to Jesse and Warber (5), individuals often feel uneasy concerning their relationship after ascertaining something suspicious on their partner's account. As a result, increased jealousy, monitoring as well as the conflict in a relation erupt. In fact, studies reveal that the more an individual examines their partner's social site activity, the more that person report cases of mistrust and jealousy (Elphinston and Noller 633).
Abnormal Behaviors and Cyberbullying
Facebook causes an increase in abnormal behaviors among the youths. Increased anxiety, loss of sleep, isolation, and lack of interaction are some of the strange practices associated with the use of this social media. Most of the youths and adults spend a lot of time online chatting and communicating with their friends thus wasting most of their opportunities. Consequently, individuals end up maximizing their time on Facebook and fail to carry out daily exercises, therefore, increase in weight. According to Khan (72), spending most of the time sitting without carrying out any physical activity leads to increased pressure thus obesity. On the same note, spending much time online isolates a person from the others hence weak interaction. In fact, Facebook is commonly preferred by shy people.
Additionally, Facebook has resulted in increased prevalence of cyberbullying, scams as well as harassment, especially among the youths. Facebook scams involve enticing a person to click on a link in exchange for a reward. Most scammers require an individual to submit sensitive information such as credit card number to receive the gift and end up scamming a person. Similarly, Facebook has caused an increase in cyberbullying among the teenagers. Studies depict that cyberbullying has led to deaths of many youths through the commitment of suicide or killings by a peer. Also, harassment is a common occurrence in most of the social networks. In Facebook, incidences of assault threats, inappropriate comments as well as sexual harassments are widespread. Such incidents affect the lives of youths and adults using this social network.
Positive Effects of Facebook
On the other side, Facebook ensures social connectivity of people across the world. For instance, an individual can keep in touch with friends and family through instant video chat and message. The use of photos, status updates as well as profile information enables Facebook users to keep in touch with the happening of their close friends. On the same note, Facebook connects people through the making of new friends. People from different places meet online and make great friends for life. Indeed, some even end up dating and marrying after time. According to recent surveys carried out in the US, more than a third of marriages in America began online through social media networks such as Facebook and other dating sites (Elphinston and Noller 634). Also, the survey shows that those marriages last even longer than those that commenced offline.
Positive Influence on Self-Esteem
Similarly, Facebook positively influences self-esteem of a person thus better development of self-identity. For instance, if a person uploads a profile picture or a statement on their account and obtains many likes and positive comments, their self-esteem increases. As a result, the mood of the user improves significantly due to show of touch with friends. On the same note, youths spend most of their times chatting and replying comments on Facebook which substantially strengthen their self-esteem and mood. For instance, most children prefer sites that have an experience of great fun.
Enhancing Healthy Relationships
Additionally, Facebook enables a person to disclose authentic information about their relationship. Therefore, the action triggers the development of a healthy relationship. A study conducted in the US revealed that people who display status such as "in a relationship" with someone reported a higher satisfaction of the two partners (Elphinston and Noller, 633). Similarly, uploading of profile pictures which display both partners on Facebook substantially strengthen relationships among the married people. As a result, confidence and trust are instilled among the couples thus promoting a health and a better relationship. Therefore, Facebook enhances strengthening of relations, especially among the married people.
Improvement in Self-Identity
Finally, Facebook enables a person to develop self-identity thus do away with shyness. For instance, most teenagers encounter a phase when they don’t want to interact with their peers. Facebook provides a platform where they can browse, communicate as well as interact with their fellow peers (Kirkpatrick 275). As a result, shy teens get an opportunity to socialize thus improve their self-identity. Accordingly, Facebook enhances the youth's communication skills thus increasing their interaction and relation behaviors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Facebook has positive and adverse effects on the youths and married people. On one side, Facebook has resulted in the increased occurrence of conflicts and divorce cases as a result of infidelity among the married partners (Clayton et al. 719). Similarly, it has caused a rise in psychological disorders, distraction from leaning as well as cybercrimes, especially among the youths. On the other side, Facebook has played a significant role in connecting people with their families and friends across the world. By so doing, the relationships are substantially strengthened. Finally, Facebook improves individual's mood, self-esteem thus resulting in the better development of self-identity.
References
Fox Jesse and Warber Katie. “Social networking sites in romantic relationships: Attachment, uncertainty, and partner surveillance on Facebook.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 17, no. 1, 2014, pp. 3-7. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0667
Kirkpatrick, David. The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. Sydney: Read How You Want/Accessible, 2012. Print.
Rachel A. Elphinston and Patricia Noller. “Time to face it! Facebook intrusion and the implications for romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol.14, no. 11, 2011, pp. 631-635. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0318
Russell Clayton, Alexander Nagurney, and Jessica Smith. “Cheating, breakup, and divorce: Is Facebook use to blame?” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 16, no. 10, 2013, pp. 717-720. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0424
Shahzad Khan. Impact of social networking websites on students. Abasyn journal of social sciences, vol. 5, no. 2, 2014, pp. 56-77.
