The Power of Facebook in Everyday Communication

One of the most famous social media outlets used today, that almost everybody has an account worldwide for, is “Facebook.” What is Facebook? Facebook is a popular social networking website that is free and allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. (Rouse-Margaret, 2014)

Facebook is available in 37 different languages, includes many public features. (Rouse-Margaret, 2014). Users can do even more with Facebook; such as, order food, live stream videos, transfer money and even link other applications and accounts. Facebook is also aware of your privacy and allows people to share content with whom they choose, any other application or website link, made publicly accessible, or it can be shared only among a select group of friends and family. Facebook users connect and communicate with others by adding friends, following their updates, commenting, and responding to posts. Users can take many advantages from Facebook; however, Facebook can also be used to project negative emotions, feeling, or intent to do harm.

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Each person prefers to use Facebook in many different ways. Personally, I take good advantage of “Facebook” primarily using it for free Wi-Fi video calling, watching current news updates, reading interesting linked stories local to my country, and connect with friends. Most of my friends on Facebook are the people that I know or met in person first. Facebook allows me to stay in touch and share my life events with them even if they cannot be with me. I like Facebook more than any other social media since it provides me with an oral, visual and written communication platform that I can access all at the same time and allow my communication purpose successful. I can present many kinds of information by several means. For example, I can be commenting on postings on my own profile while simultaneously uploading GIF files to my friends account and video calling my family back in Thailand. I use public links to acquire knowledge, whether I’m watching news or reading articles relevant to my education or career. I love the ability as well to see if my friends or family are sad by the pictures or comments they post. I can then know and find out what is wrong and utilize what Facebook already has to offer with funny emojis, GIFs, or Video Streaming with funny cover pictures. I always try to keep my friends and family happy by letting them see only happy photos of me instead of posing my bad situation, so they will not have to worry and wonder how am I doing. Facebook also allows me to upload photos and videos of my dog since she is my beloved one, so smart, cuddly and cute! It makes me even happier to see that others agree “Frenchie is the best.”

I believe Facebook presents what I want it to, so I prefer to think before I post anything. I not only use my account to show my emotions and supporting emotions to my family and friends, but also pride in my heritage and national origin. I choose to show my history from as far back as I possibly can to even now. I share publicly photos of my native hometown to show how lovely it is, the residence and culture are. We take pride in our cooking and you can see that everywhere I go that’s nice to eat, or when I cook at home, I love showing how tasty it looks since you can’t taste its awesomeness with me. I care politically about what happens in my country, but I do not post or show any comment since it is very disrespectful to Facebook friends who might think differently. In contrast when I compare my Facebook profile to my husband’s profile, I show more empathy and desire to communicate with others on Facebook. My husband has almost nothing and chooses not to link, share or have many friends outside of those he works with. Unlike myself when I cook a lovely meal, I wish to show my friends and family and feel that gratification, my husband says he could care less and has no desire or drive for the gratification or recognition of others. The only reason he keeps his account is for WI-FI calling myself when he travels and to link other applications easier. I would assume that he prefers to have more interaction and communication with people in person over social media.

As mentioned before how Facebook can be positive to me since I can take a good advantage from it, thinking about how people can use Facebook in a negative way makes me think about the military guy who became an active shooter in Thailand. The police investigated this case and found some information on his Facebook profile linked to this terrified situation.

“Thailand police revealed Sunday they tried several times to persuade a soldier who had killed 29 people to turn himself in, and even brought the gunman's mother in to talk to him. The shooting at a military base in Thailand's northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, known as Korat, and a crowded shopping mall also left 58 others injured -- 30 of whom remain hospitalized -- before the gunman was killed by police at around 9 a.m. local time on Sunday (9 p.m. ET Saturday), according to officials” CNN, (Westcott-Ben)

Through the investigation, police discovered his Facebook profile had many posted pictures of weapons; along with, angry status updates only one day prior. It was determined that the main conflict he had ongoing was with land dealings between him and his boss, an armor general, and never receiving fair justice. When looking into his daily life, he was just a normal nice guy who was beloved by all his friends. Facebook had been an area to comfort his sadness. When he was sad, depressed or happy he couldn’t show and share his emotions and problems with his military friends, so Facebook was the best place to release what was on his mind. Nobody believed he could become the person who would senselessly kill many people the following day. That day, he used his Facebook live to show what he was doing. Surprisingly, he made his live video public so everyone could see him shooting people in the shopping mall. Many people came to comment on his Facebook to make him to stop, but was not succeed. He seemed to feel that he owns the power that can make people scared, cry and control whether they live or die. People trapped in shopping mall had their lives held in his hands.

In conclusion we can see how my Facebook empowers myself to communicate emotion and joy, and to further amplify my own through positive gratification. On the other hand, we can see the power and terror one person can project, and how they can thrive and feed on not necessarily receiving feedback, but knowing what they are doing is being shown to the world.