Social Media! More and more people get on Facebook and other social media sites every day. They do it to reconnect with people, whether it be people they grew up with or people they went to school with, or just to keep up with family and friends that don’t live close. But, has it become an obsession? Some people can’t spend more than a couple of hours away from Facebook. They have to constantly be updating their statuses; everyone knows what they are doing at any given time all day long. Then there are those who live vicariously through others. They read up on what everyone else is doing and wonder why their life is so boring. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is doing unsavory things on Facebook, but should there or can there be a monitor for the ones that are using Facebook and other and other social media sites to do the nefarious things?

Some people use Facebook as a way to bully others. This mostly comes from school-aged kids, from elementary to high school, and for a long time they got away with it. Children are so impressionable and need a lot of reassurance. Then here comes this person who hides behind a screen and a keyboard and all they want to do is tear them down. As a teen or young adult, this is devastating because they all want to be accepted by their peers. Facebook is looked at by millions of these teens’ peers and if they think that everyone in their school or their circle is against them, they start to feel desperate. Teens should not have to go through this. Someone should be monitoring what school aged students are talking about and doing on Facebook. There also should be teens that stand up against bullying. Don’t follow what others are doing. Today, it’s the other guy, but next week it could be you. If someone is writing something that is offensive or just derogatory against another person, be that one to stand against it. We don’t want to see anyone we know or love doing harm to themselves or others because they feel less than worthy. Call it policing, but we are all responsible in one way or another, if we read these things and do nothing. There are those teens that use Facebook to communicate with friends when they are not in school and that’s what it should be used for.

Don’t think that bullying on Facebook is left to teens and young adults, because it’s not. We let people into our lives when we friend them on Facebook and sometimes people take advantage of that. First of all, the only person that should know how to get on your Facebook is you. There’s no reason for another person to have the password to your Facebook. Be vigilant when it comes to monitoring your Facebook; someone is always putting out there that someone “hacked” their Facebook and then they are putting stuff on there that is terrible for the person who got hacked and me as the reader. Facebook should have those monitors right on the spot that can take those postings down right away, but there’s always someone who sees it before it gets taken down. I’ve known numerous people who have had nude pictures of themselves put on Facebook because their ex, who they thought they could trust with such pictures, was mad at them. Once they are out there, there is not much that can be done about it. The person has to suck it up and realize that the decision to make that person an ex-was ultimately the right one because they couldn’t be trusted. This can be a hard lesson to learn sometimes.

If everyone uses Facebook for the forum it was intended, Facebook is a great place. There are people that I was really close to in high school and over the years we have lost touch. I wonder about them, what their life is like now, and it’s just a wonderful thing to be able to touch base with them so that they know even after all these years of no contact, you still think about them. Facebook is also a forum for people trying to let others know about their businesses. It’s an inexpensive way to advertise. We are always looking for goods and services and Facebook is a place to start. All social media sites give us an insight into the lives of others. We should take pleasure in this, not let it consume us all day, every day. Sometimes we have to monitor ourselves when it comes to social media Many times, our bosses and other important people are monitoring our Facebook and you don’t want them to see pictures of you when you were at a bachelor party in Las Vegas. What’s funny to you may not be funny to your employer. Take responsibility for yourself and others in your inner circle. If there are things on Facebook that shouldn’t be there, report it. Also, repress the need to let everyone know what you are doing every moment of the day.

Words Of The Week: If you find yourself thinking everybody’s post is about you, you’re on social media way too much.