What is facebook?

Facebook is a social networking website intended to connect friends, family, and business associates. It is the largest of the networking sites, with the runner up being MySpace. It began as a college networking website and has expanded to include anyone and everyone.

Facebook users create a profile page that shows their friends and networks information about themselves. The choice to include a profile in a network means that everyone withing that network can view the profile. The profile typically includes the following: Information, Status, Friends, Friends in Other Networks, Photos, Notes, Groups, and The Wall.

Facebook began in 2004 as a service for college students—originally users could only use Facebook if they had an email account from a select number of institutions. Today, it’s available to anyone 13 and over with an email address. Once an account is created, users can customize their user profile with all kinds of information—from employment history to favorite ice cream flavor and beyond. Facebook’s many features allow people to search for other users and add them as friends, manage privacy settings, send private messages, create groups, add applications, and more.

Facebook surrounds us. Most major media channels, brands, organizations, trade groups, non-profits and institutions have a presence on Facebook. Besides being on Facebook everyone is pointing everybody to “connect” with them and their audience on Facebook.  Over 70% of the US population is on Facebook and the exchange of daily conversational activity is staggering.  This continued behavior  ought to make us ask what is Facebook becoming rather than what is Facebook today.

Advantages 
· Allows user search for new and old friends
· Accessible to chosen universities having a high level of security
· Makes it less awkward when communicating with strangers or people you are not familiar with
· Love attraction – can be used as a dating service system
· Makes it easier to join groups having similar likes and dislikes
· Allows members to check students who are taking the same class, living within the same area, or coming from the same academy

Disadvantages 
· Overcrowding
· Weakening long distance relationship
· Unsupported by physical adjacency
· Contributes wide-range procrastination
· Rampant addiction
· Stalking is possible
· Acquaintances be labeled as friends