Ahhh Facebook. It’s not the first social network created during our generation. But in more ways than one, it has revolutionized the way the concept works. On a positive note, it allows family and friends from all over the world to reconnect and strengthen their personal relationships. However, there is also a negative side to Facebook. Aside from the privacy issues, there is also the potential for its features and applications to be big time wasters.
Photo Credit: Ambuj Saxena
Some people seem to think that all their friends want to be tagged in every funny photo they find on the internet. You can waste so much time untagging yourself from these photos. And just as you can lose track of time clicking the untag link, you can also waste so much time tagging yourself and your friends in photos.
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These days, it’s so easy to show love for your favorite movies, shows, music artists, etc. All you have to do is click the “Like” button on their Facebook fan page. And if that’s not enough, you can also join groups to communicate with other like-minded individuals. It seems that people have created a group and fan page for anything and everything. And believe me, there will be times when you won’t be able to resist them.
Stating your opinion in response to people’s status messages can be, in some ways, empowering. Sometimes you just like to let people know what you think or what you know. But when done excessively, commenting can be a big time waster.
I love how Facebook allows you to share information, photos, and videos at the click of the upload button. I’m sure that you have interrupted your work just to upload and share interesting photos, videos, and links.
It’s funny how some people still have time to update their status even when faced with an emergency or an urgent task. Those are precious seconds wasted! For some people, updating their status just becomes an obsessive thing.
Accepting or ignoring friend, game, and application requests can be a big waste of time if you don’t watch out. Try to respond to these requests two to three times a week to reduce the time you waste each day.
It’s funny how thousands of people spend time, energy, and even real money on flash games. And have you tried answering all those tests and quizzes on Facebook? I have and you can lose hours finding out what color your heart is, what kind of kisser you are, and so many other vital things you need to know about yourself. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic on the last part.)
Chatting with your friends can use up so many valuable minutes of your day. You start exchanging greetings, gossip, links, and before you know it, it is break time and you haven’t made any significant progress on your work.
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If you haven’t changed your settings, then you are probably getting hundreds of notification emails from Facebook. They are a waste of inbox space. Deleting them every day just to get to the important emails is also a big waste of time.
Have you experienced or engaged in any of these Facebook time wasters? I admit that in the beginning, I loved going on Facebook to do random things to avoid working. I’m sure that at one time or another, you also have. However, don’t feel too bad. You don’t have to continue wasting your life on Facebook. The key, from here on out, is not to completely restrict yourself, but to show some discipline and restraint. And don’t forget to tweak your settings or to remind your friends to tag you only in actual photos of yourself.
Top Photo Credit: Rono G