Personal experience Feature / Facebook: A Waste of Time?

I never expected to get so involved in Facebook. It didn’t suddenly assault me with its internet tactics, desperately trying to win me over. Instead, it came to me gradually and inveigled me to get involved just like everyone else. I already had Xanga; another blog at the moment seemed too overwhelming for me. However, one by one my friends started to get Facebook, and it was impossible for me not to get one as well.

Once I made my account, Facebook seemed to draw me into its selfish, time-consuming territory, and Xanga slipped from the back of my mind. As soon as I got home from school, I would check my Facebook. It began to possess my time, and I unknowingly allowed it to, spending at least 10 hours a week doing various Facebook applications. Emily Y, a friend of mine from school, said of Facebook, “People just don’t know when to stop.”

Continually I had to justify myself with petty excuses. The first reason was to keep in touch with my friends. As a student living in another country, I have many friends all over the world, and it is hard to keep in touch with all of them. However, through Facebook I was able to make contact with friends from first grade. I was able to build up current relationships and also renew old relationships, and this was one thing I really appreciated about Facebook. Dany R, another friend of mine, said in summary, “Facebook helps connect with friends."

I came to realize that the biggest reason why I was so addicted to Facebook was because it was purely entertaining. Looking at other peoples’ pictures, commenting on statuses and using different applications was just plain fun and exciting. I enjoyed sharing conversations with people and sending people pieces of flair. It’s true: Time flies when you're having fun.

Though I denied it over and over again, I finally came to a point where I had to face the facts: Facebook was a waste of time. A survey from the SAT class showed that most students spent at least 7-9 hours a week on Facebook. 7-9 hours! I am always complaining that I don’t have enough time to study or that I don’t have enough time to meditate on God’s Word, but in reality I don’t have the right to complain. I could have spent 7 hours doing any of those useful things, but instead I wasted that time to do pretty much nothing. “After five hours, you think, ‘What did I do?’ ” said Ben N, a classmate of mine, and I strongly urge any avid Facebook users to ask themselves the same.

Another disadvantage is the aspect of relationships. Though I have built stronger relationships with friends via Facebook, it’s never a healthy relationship to continually talk online and never face to face. Steve Hargadon said, “The Web is becoming a conversation." I do not want any of my relationships to be dependent on Facebook. As Weston M put it, “Facebook takes away personal aspects of real life interactions.”

From this experience, I have learned to cut down my time on Facebook. It takes genuine determination to restrict myself from logging into my Facebook, but anything is possible. Facebook is a useful tool in many aspects but its long-time effects depend on how much time I choose to spend on it. I have to be wise in my decisions and wise in the way I handle the time God has given me. With over 132 million people worldwide using Facebook, it is a great way to connect with people and share memories, but at the same time, I have to challenge myself to limit any unnecessary waste of valuable time. In Ephesians 5:15-16, it says, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.”