Erick Leyva
Professor Lorie Hamalian
English 114B
11 April, 2013
The Revolutionary Uses of Facebook
As human beings, we need to socialize in order to grow as human beings; it is in our nature. Throughout time, people have socialized in many ways such as writing to one another, calling each other by using the telephone, or visiting each other in order to keep in touch. Today,
Facebook has been made in order for people to socialize easier than ever before. Family members, friends, and others can interact by the click of a button. People that are separated from their loved ones such as soldiers can have a better way of communicating with their loved ones.
By using Facebook, it lets us build new relationships with many people around the world.
Unfortunately, technology does not always benefit society as the documentary, Sound City , has demonstrated. Facebook has revolutionized the way people socialize with one another in a positive way by strengthening current relationships and building new relationships.
Since we were newborns’, we humans had no knowledge of the world or ourselves. In order to grow and be more informative, we needed the guidance of others such as loved ones, friends, and even strangers. According to Peggy La Cerra, “Being alive is an ongoing search for energy and our intelligence system evolved to make sure we get what we need. For humans, this means creating and building relationships” (Cerra). As a result, people are sociable and crave to interact with others in order to learn about how the world is and to find themselves as well. By using Facebook, evolving into a better human being is an easier process by being able to connect

with people we know or desire to know. Communication and socialization are methods done by all human beings and Facebook makes it easier for people to implement these methods.
Also when using Facebook, we are able to communicate with others around the world.
According to Cameron, “Learning about other cultures and having respect for differences can go a long way in creating successful relationships. Be objective, have an open mind, and your camp will benefit from an international influence” (Cameron). When being more observant about the world, we are able to see and understand the world a lot better. Using that knowledge, we are able to connect with those we talk to around the world using Facebook and apply it in an environment where it is multicultural. Facebook has allowed us to connect with people around the world, as well as loved ones.
In the past, people had a hard time connecting with friends and families who lived many miles away. Before Facebook was invented, socializing with others who lived many miles was very limited. People such as soldiers had messengers dispatched to deliver a hand written message or they used the phone, but this is not enough to feel close with those they were communicating with. Fortunately, Facebook has made it possible to post pictures, statuses, or videos of what people are doing and let their friends or family see it as fast as the click of a button. Facebook allows videos, photos, or statuses post on their network in seconds which makes communicating with their loved ones to be easy which benefit soldiers. As a result, they have benefitted from the Facebook’s abilities [“Frequent and direct contact with family and friends could boost morale, resolve family problems before they got out of hand at home, relieve boredom, reduce isolation, and answer very efficiently the major questions that spouses often have concerning their soldier: "Where is my soldier? How can I get in touch with him/her? How long will he/she be gone? Is he/she in any danger?"] (Bell). By being connected with those at

home using Facebook, it makes them feel as if they never left home. Just as Facebook has benefitted soldiers, it has also benefitted those who live harsh lives.
Luckily, Facebook has benefitted society by making the public aware of the world’s problems. An organization called Invisiblechildren used Facebook to make their agenda widespread to the public. This all started when a man named Jason Rusell met a boy named
Jacob in Uganda through the internet. They have communicated with one another since the year
2002 using a social network and later staying in contact by using Facebook. When Jason met
Jacob and heard his story, his life changed. “Jacob was a boy whose life was devastated by a man named Joseph Kony; a warlord whose army named the Lord’s Resistance Army has been abducting, killing, and displacing civilians in East and Central Africa. He has committed many crimes against humanity such as murder, sexual slavery, abducting, and many other crimes. He has gone ignored since 1987” (invisiblechildreninc). Since then, the organization has used
Facebook in order to make the public aware of the problems occurring in East and Central
Africa. A video was then posted and has gone viral by having over 100 million views and have attracted many to join their cause in bringing Joseph Kony to justice. “An original goal of
500,000 people signed on to the pledge was annihilated, with more than 3.7 million pledges.
More than 400,000 people bought one of the Kony awareness products, such as action kits.
Invisible Children sold or distributed 285,000 action kits, 895,000 bracelets, 340,000 T-shirts and 4.6 million posters during the campaign” (Hrywna). Many people got involved, and changed many people’s lives. It’s incredible how a social network connected two people miles away from each other and made a man such as Jason change the way of life for those residing in East and
Central Africa by raising awareness about their suffering using Facebook, but technology sometimes has disadvantages.

Unfortunately, technology is sometimes used for other purposes other than their proper role. In the documentary Sound City , great music was made there with famous artists such as
Nirvana. “When pro-tools, a computer program to record and edit music, came along; it was supposed to be used for the purpose of making better music. Instead, some audio industries abused it by making an amateur music player seem like a professional” (Sound City). Just as protools are being used for another purpose, Facebook has been used to make others look like professionals as well.
Just as Sound City has shown how anyone can become a professional music player by using pro tools, Facebook also has the ability to make anyone look like a professional in the field of advertisements. An example of this would be a friend of mine who has made his own clothing brand and advertises it by using Facebook. On his page, it looks professional by having a lot of flawless pictures of people modeling for his clothing and even posting a website where he sells his clothing. Surprisingly, his “store” is not as professional as his Facebook page. His “store” is actually his mother’s basement, where the neighborhood seems unsafe. Facebook has as much power as pro tools by making amateurs seem like professionals, but Facebook does not advertise it. Instead they do research in order to know which ones are professional by knowing which pages are popular to the public which are professional by their huge amount of customers.
“Facebook has allowed display advertising based on its almost 1 billion users' demographics, gathered from their interests, page "likes" and other posted data” (Diduch). As a result, the
Facebook gathers data in order to provide the professional advertisements to their users. The only way someone can hear about pages such as my friend is by liking their page, making it visible only to those who like it. The user is responsible for being fooled by these pages, not

Facebook since they only advertise brands that are professional. Facebook allows amateurs to advertise their products by creating a page on their network, but Facebook does not advertise it.
Finally, Facebook has revolutionized the way human beings communicate and socialize with others in a positive way by strengthening or building new relationships. Communication that goes on through the internet using Facebook has done so much for our society. Many have used it for people to communicate with their loved ones by projecting themselves on a screen and making it seem as if distance is no longer an issue. Others have used it to form new relationships and in the process, understand those that lived differently than they lived and even changed the way of living for those they were communicating with. When people log on to their accounts, they don’t realize that the tool they are using can do so much for our society. It has changed the lives of many such as Jacob and will continue to do so since Facebook makes situations going on in the world become visible to the public. Today, technology has done so much for our society so the lives of human beings can be improved. Facebook has changed the way people interact by making it easier to socialize and will continue to benefit society.
Work Cited
Bell, D. Bruce, et al. "The Desert Fax: A Research Note on Calling Home from Somalia." Armed
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Cameron, Sandy. "Understanding Cultural Differences." Camping Magazine July 2000: 24.
General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Diduch, Mary. "Advertisers Test New Facebook Tool." The Record, (2012): L.7.
Hrywna, Mark. "Results weren't invisible: Kony 2012 taught lessons of organizational

communication." The Non-profit Times.
1 Mar. 2013: 1+. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr.
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Invisiblechildreninc. “Kony 2012.” 5 Mar. 2012. YouTube. Web. 11 April, 2013
La Cerra, Peggy. "Why Relationships Are So Difficult." Spirituality & Health Magazine.
July-
Aug. 2011. General OneFile . Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Sound City. Dir. David Grohl. Roswell Films, 2013. DVD.