There's a phenomenon sweeping the globe and it's called Facebook. The social networking site started out as a dorm room hobby, but has quickly grown into a world-wide sensation. With membership growing at a high rate, high page hits, and users spanning the globe, it's no wonder that society has become obsessed with Facebook.
Facebook's Inception
Originally billed as thefacebook.com, Facebook began as the hobby of a Harvard sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2004. With financial backing from Eduardo Saverin, Zuckerberg saw his hobby become an instant hit within the dorm rooms of Harvard. Eventually, thefacebook.com spread to Standford and Yale where it was also well received. Soon two other Harvard students, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg in improving the site. Once the site became a national student sensation, Moskovitz and Zuckerberg left Harvard to run their online venture full time.
In August 2005 thefacebook.com officially became known as Facebook and the domain facebook.com was reportedly purchased for $200,000. Now Facebook has evolved into a popular site visited by teens and adults alike, unseating Myspace and firmly cementing itself as the leader in social networks. In January 2011, Facebook raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and an unnamed Russian investor in a deal that puts the value of the company at $50 billion.
Facebook Obsession
The mega-social site has an estimated 550 million members, one out of every twelve people have a Facebook account. Facebook users speak seventy-five different languages and spend upwards of 700 billion minutes on the social site a month. In November, one out of four page hits in America were for Facebook. And the rate of it's membership is growing at a rate of 700,000 people a day.
Facebook has become so influential in society that it has not only been a positive influence, but a negative influence on society. One girl, with the aid of Facebook, was reunited with her birth mother; however, another woman was fired from her job because of a post that she made on the popular site.
Andrea Ahan, a 27-year-old who broke up with her boyfriend but did not “unfriend” him on the popular social site, was shocked to find the contents of emails she had sent to her ex being quoted by her ex's new girlfriend. Ahan was also mortified to find old high school photos of herself being tagged on the popular site. Now she feels obligated to stay connected on Facebook in order to monitor what is being posted about her.
What Ahan is feeling is not an uncommon one, particularly among people in their twenties who have not lived a life without online awareness. For this particular age group, participating in sites such as Facebook is not optional because if they don't, they run the risk of someone else defining who they are. Instead, they constantly post pictures of themselves, their thoughts, any change in relationship status, and they do it instantly!
It's undeniable that Facebook has had an impact socially, a person can update their status on their cellphone, but it's also had an impact financially. Facebook, after all, has become a billion-dollar business. Mark Zuckerberg went from being a Harvard student to a billionaire all because he followed his dreams, and his dreams impacted the world.
Sources
mashable.com“Facebook-The Complete Biography” by Sid Yadav (Access January 24, 2011)
topics.nytimes.com “Facebook” (Accssed January 24, 2011)
www.time.com “Person Of The Year 2010: Mark Zuckerberg” by Lev Grossman (Accessed January 24, 2011)
www.cnbc.com “The Facebook Obsession” (Accessed on January 24, 2011)
www.nytimes.com “Brave New World Of Digital Intimacy” by Clive Thompson (Accessed on January 24, 2011)
www.tomsguide.com “Facebook Launches App For Not-So-Smartphones” by Jane McEntegart (Accessed on January 24, 2011)
Christine Rachuy - My name is Christine Rachuy and I enjoy writing on all different subjects. I tend to write mostly about Christianity, music, photography, ...
