Though fun at first, social networking sites have long since become a breeding ground for narcissism, drama, and the popular trend of the digital anti-resume.
For months I cruised through Facebook’s attractive honeymoon phase, chatting with friends and dabbling on Farmville.
Now every time I read through the news feed of my whopping 115 friends, I feel like I’m witnessing a graphic train crash – disturbing, provocative, and eye-catching.
The egotism was the first red flag.
With a question like “what’s on your mind?” prompting every status update, maybe it’s no wonder why posts are becoming more introspective. In 2009 Facebook added the question, instead of the former “so-and-so is…” formula.
No longer do you see simple statements of what a person is up to; now you sit front seat to your friends’ fleeting thoughts, including how great that shower felt and how drunk your niece was Saturday night.
People will so willingly post their dirty laundry for the internet to see. Sure privacy settings are available, but after all of your friends and all of your friends’ friends take a look, is it really that private?
Facebook is like an anti-resume. Resumes include your highest achievements and the precise things you’d want an employer to read. However, a Facebook profile page is much easier to access and can shed more light on a persons’ ethics and decision skills.
CareerBuilder discovered that 45 percent of employers use Facebook and Twitter to research job candidates.
If you couldn’t say it in front of an employer, should you really be posting it online?
Then, of course, there are the annoying Facebook fights.
Facebook originally seemed like a safe haven from the Myspace drama. It was geared toward college students and adults, not just the high school crowd.
However, all good things must end. Now, just as many adults start drama through status comments as young kids do.
Countless times I’ve seen jealous accusations and friend fights play out through status comments. The only thing more stupid than spreading your own dirty laundry is spreading other peoples’.
Although Facebook is an excellent social networking tool, I think it’s slowly falling into the internet grave of websites past. Now Myspace won’t be so lonely.
