Ask the gen next and you would find them yapping about facebooking! From the yuppies of the upscale town to the simpletons of the downtown, Facebook has certainly become the ‘big thing’ of the social networking sites and also a common link amongst everyone. Even since its initiation in 2004, by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has become the most popular social networking site, with over 500 million members as of July 2010. To be a part of this social gang, all you need to do is log in with your email id and create a profile page wherein you need to add a few details about your personal and professional life.

Next, join the online community of the respective networks organized by your city, school, college or workplace and bingo! You are into the world of Facebook. From connecting people all across the globe to giving them an opportunity to polish their networking skills, Facebook offers it all. What’s more, Facebook has become a great platform for raising social issues and also a profitable advertising tool with a broader reach than any other media. However, with a lot of thumbs up, Facebook has its share of shortcomings as well. Read below to get information on the advantages and disadvantage of Facebook.

Advantages Of Facebook

• The interface used by Facebook is simple, easy to use and orderly.
• Facebook is a public application. As such, it is quite appealing to the younger lot. The public application makes it simple for students to share their lives, whether educational, social, personal or professional in a fun and learning environment.
• Facebook lets you decide whatever you want to share with whomever you want to, which makes it possible for you to keep your privacy intact.
• Facebook is also available through WAP enabled mobile phones. So, you can update about the activities going on in your life from practically anywhere. Also, it allows you to be in touch with all your friends, regardless of where you are.
• Facebook is a great tool to find an old friend. All you need to do is use the search option to find a friend whom you want to reconnect with.
• Facebook provides a great platform to advertise for business houses. Since the portal serves as the common destination for a diverse network of people, business houses can take the advantage for mass promotion of product or service. Also, the categorization of the groups allows advertisers to advertise as per their target audience.
• The cost of online advertising on portals like Facebook is lower than conventional methods, and also provides a wider audience and greater visibility.
• Facebook can also be used as vehicle to promote and discuss social issues. Groups could be formed pertaining to any topic of social importance, and public opinion could be molded by means of discussions.
• Facebook has made photo sharing an uncomplicated process. You can upload and download photos in no time. The best part of it is that you can access the photographs from your mobile device also.

Disadvantages Of Facebook

• The interface of Facebook is less enjoyable and could be boring at times, as compared to other social networking sites.
• Dependence on technological communication tool like Facebook can adversely affect the social communication skills of the youths.
• Social networking tools can easily become an addiction. It could hamper a student’s educational obligations or an employees output at his workplace, which explains as to why most educational institutes and organizations have banned the use of Facebook in their premises.
• There is always the fear of cyber stalking in Facebook, and chances are that your personal details might land up in wrong hands.
• Facebook is spoiling the value of relationships, mostly long distance relationships. This is because the relationship is built and maintained through a website and lacks the emotional and physical involvement of an unadulterated relationship.
• It is mostly seen that people are overjoyed when they outnumber their acquaintances when it comes to friend list. Though the friend list in the networking site keeps going up, how many of the members are your real friends is a question best left unanswered. Remember, friendship is more than just knowing a person over the internet.