Social Networks

                As a not avid Facebook user, the only reason I really go on is to see my cousin's kids. Of course though, when I check I get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of everyone's lives. Not many people I know are active on Facebook these days, mainly older family members and people from my hometown and high school that never really grew up or moved on. Occasionally, current and old friends will post something, but posts are not often seen. The posts that come across my feed have heavily revolved around racism, politics, sexism, children/pregnancy, not funny funny videos, and The Walking Dead spoilers.  Racism and politics are huge lately, because obviously everyone is a politician and completely educated (just kidding). People use these Facebook pages to tell people about themselves and their beliefs, and whether those beliefs are good or bad is up for debate, for the most part. But, whether they're good or bad, these profiles are public and can have negative ramifications for the user spewing hate and ignorance, or cursing, or posting sexual pictures, as detailed in this article. While I believe in free speech, there are limits, mainly if your ideas endanger others, you should probably stop, chill out, and rethink some things before posting on the internet. It always seems like those with the most to say are those who are the least nice I guess I could say.

                There are a multitude of people that are super pro-America to the extreme that they have a hatred towards "illegal immigrants," regular immigrants, minorities, people wanting to take their guns, and have a lack of understanding of politics and public policy. They constantly post stuff like "if you don't like the military, then just leave," "you can't take our guns," "make people on welfare take drug tests before getting welfare," or just other generally racist comments that make me so angry I can't even write them. Loving your country is one thing, but these people take it to a whole new level. The way these people present themselves can be aversive to people that don't think like them, and their racists posts can negatively affect them later in life.

                There are boys and girls that present themselves in not so professional ways on their Facebook pages. Maybe these people have a history of over sharing about how much they hate their current/old job, how much weed they smoke, or how drunk they got this weekend. While I'm a firm supporter of doing what you want and dressing like you want as long as it doesn't harm others, the way these people present themselves may have negative effects later as well. Future employers may not be too keen on hiring a man that constantly posts shirtless selfies or a woman that constantly dresses in a revealing manner. Like previously said, I'm all for doing what you want, but people have to be careful about how they present themselves in a society that is heavily focused on social media.

                These Facebook pages do represent the people that made them, whether it be good or bad. They serve as online personalities for people to get to know someone else without making the effort of actually getting to know someone else. These profiles provide quick snippets of people's thoughts and ideas so that others can make a judgment on whether or not they should waste their time with that other person.