Title Page Introduction Background Personal Benefits Potential Downsides Conclusion Bibliography

Potential Downsides


Despite the great benefits Facebook gives to its users to stay in touch and communicate, there are definite downsides to the changes it made in its users’ social interaction. The fact that people post so much private information about themselves and their lives online, sensitive information about users can be easily accessed by unwanted parties.

Companies have been using Facebook to learn about their employees for years. However, a new study suggests that companies may begin using Facebook to screen their applicants based on personality traits. This study says that analysts can study what users post on their Facebook pages and determine the individual’s personality, intelligence, and academic performance. This can potentially be a problem, as now you may be denied a job just based on what you share with your social network on Facebook. (HRMagazine, 2010)

Private lives are not so private anymore. You can find out almost anything about anyone. The fact that once you begin sharing information on Facebook it can be seen by almost anyone is a problem that many people don’t realize exists. The fact that you are connected to people you know almost at all times is also a problem. With the connection of cell phones to Facebook, taking time for yourself or taking a vacation to get away from everything can be hard, as this connection is ever-present in your life. (Keenan and Shiri, 2009)