"You Have No Friends"

Prior to reading the article in it's self, I assumed it would detail an argument opposing the social network Facebook. To my surprise, my suspicions were inaccurate. While reading this article as a believer, I was open minded and held no judgement. I simply read it, with the intent to learn and comprehend the author's position toward Facebook. Manjoo presented an argument in support for the popular networking site. He listed many interesting facts about the site. Personally, the idea of "If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world," stuck out to me immediately. Manjoo continued his argument by presenting the many reasons why so many people have joined Facebook. He had responses from both 'Facebookers' and 'Non-Facebookers'. By including these, it allowed me has a believer, to see both sides concerning his argument.

I've become a doubter. After reading the article a second time through, a few things crossed my mind concerning Manjoo's position. Yes, he gave a argument in support of Facebook and did even justify a few opposing remarks. However, Manjoo failed to mention a few things. First off, no where did he mention the concept of fake profiles and the harm they can cause. Most people assume the good in others, thus believing a person in a photo is the real person behind the screen. There have been numerous occasions where pedophiles or 'creepers' have created both Facebook and even Myspace accounts claiming to be someone else. In some instances, these men and woman have caused emotional and physical harm to their 'friends'. On another much different note, Facebook can become addicting. Manjoo did discuss some information concerning this fact but did not identify the negatives that come with it. I for one have witnessed first hand a number of my fellow classmates engaging in Facebook activity for hourrrrss at a time. That's a huge distraction. Plus side effects from these actions can cause blindness and carpal tonal.