Good Essay About Benefits Of Using Facebook

People can be benefitted by Using Facebook

Introduction
As of the third quarter of 2014, there were already more than 1.35 billion active users of Facebook. In addition to that, a recent survey revealed that an active Facebook user spends about an average of 25 minutes a day on this site. This fact revealed how popular this social media network among people around the world. However, there are many individuals who objected to the use of Facebook because of the perceived dangers and negative effects it can have on an individual especially among the youths. But while there are claimed risks of using this social media, still there are reported intrinsic worth of being active on this site. The negative effects of Facebook as cited by some people can be dominated by the benefits that can be derived by wisely and critically using it.

Facebook Beneficial for Increased Productivity at Work

According to recent research, the use of Facebook increases productivity among individuals. A short break coupled with a few minutes time on Facebook enables a person to be free from worries and relax his mind and body with the time spent on Facebook. According to Dr. Brent Coker of the Department of Management and Marketing of University of Melbourne, Australia, “short and unobstrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to higher total net concentration for a day’s work, and as a result, increased productivity” (Greenfield, 2011). Working all day in the office, interacting with co-employees, communicating with the customers and dealing with a boss and other physically and mentally taxing duties at work can often lead to lower productivity. A quick browse and interaction with friends on Facebook can deliver a restorative effect as it clears the mind of bugging details about work while providing a relaxing effect.
There are, however those who claimed that using Facebook at work is detrimental to productivity. Large and small companies expressed concern that the prevalent membership of their employees on Facebook would decrease their time spent productively at work. Studies revealed that the effect of international recession called for the decline in the number of employees being hired; prompting some companies to reduce breaks, for example, a one hour break was shortened to about 45 minutes; and some employees were often required to take shorter lunch breaks at half an hour. Allowing employees to have time to surf the net is in irony of the shortened breaks that is required of them. This means that further hours spent on Facebook can be detrimental to productivity at work because it robs the employer of paid time. Not only that, it also shifts the concentration of the employee to other things other than the work at hand. According to an article entitle The Risks of Social Media: Decreased Worker Productivity, the largest disadvantages of social media such as Facebook is the decreased worker productivity (Wade, 2010). To many employers, the downside of social media is that their employees if left unchecked are so engrossed with social media such as Facebook so that they cannot help but open the site several times in a day. As a result, employees do not perform their works in the best way and in the most available time to them. This leads to lesser performance, and production that reduces revenues for the company.
Nevertheless, one should note that employees turning unproductive at work are an indication of other concerns that may not be related to Facebook or other social media. Even years and decades before Facebook was created; employees who are bored with their job or who are not just interested at being productive created other means to spend their working hours at other things. Besides, an employee, being the human being that he is, cannot work non-stop for the whole day and expected to keep his productivity at high level. People will be more productive and are inclined to create better ideas when given short time breaks, and would be allowed to open their Facebook as a means to use their breaks well. A study at National University of Singapore reported that “taking a minute to relieve your brain from boring work duty has its benefits” (Greenfield, 2011). Choosing to visit Facebook during breaks can be compared to going to coffee shops or snack bars, as the act of interacting with other people in Facebook can bring a pleasurable feeling to an individual.

Facebook is Beneficial for Business Promotion

The potential benefits of a Facebook account can range not only by keeping a person in touch with families and friends, but it can also be a way to promote business. For one, it is a low-cost marketing technique that can effectively get one to different marketing channels. This is best to small and medium size firms as well as to larger ones who prefer to lessen their marketing cost at the least possible. With a Facebook account that is continuously active, one can promote the many aspects of the business that one thinks can help in getting more interested customers. Videos, pictures as well as texts about the business and the products can be advertised in the Facebook page at relative ease. This social media site can connect its member to different people in almost any part of the world thus making it an ideal tool in promoting commerce. As an industry promotional tool, one can talk to existing customers and potential clients or patrons through message sent and received. A person who opted to be in a business venture will find success in sharing information about his products and business to interested parties on Facebook. Building a long term relationship with customers through this site can increase an assurance of the steady flow of business with them, while encouraging other customers through increased awareness and positive feedbacks as seen on the Facebook wall. Another advantage of Facebook in business is the targeted advertising due to the ability of this social media to analyse information that was pass in by the millions of members in their profiles (Queensland, 2014).
Undeniably, there are many drawbacks in the attempt of using Facebook to promote industry. For one, Facebook is vulnerable to hacker attacks that can adversely change the information in an individual’s profile. There are many testimonies of people doing business in on this site who were scammed of their hard earned money to unscrupulous individuals. Another drawback of using Facebook for business as claimed by many people is that it is a waste of time. One may open his or her Facebook with the initial intent to promote one’s business, but to the contrary, the addictive features of this site can make one spend more time in endless chats or gaming that consumes too much time that should have been spent in more productive things. In addition to that, the openness of Facebook exposes a business to malicious threats and false allegations that can be detrimental to the business in the long run.
Admittedly, the drawbacks stated above have some truthfulness in it such as the vulnerability of Facebook accounts to hackers. However, there are means by which to counter or reduce the exposure to such risks. As one who intends to use the feature of this site to promote business, it is one’s duty to be familiar with the types of Facebook scams as people who are well informed reduces the possibility of them becoming the victims of Facebook scammers. Facebook users should always be aware of the rule on this site: it is the users who have complete control of their profiles and accounts on Facebook. This social media network is now upgraded so that users can select the information that they wanted to remain private and those that they wanted to share with Facebook population. While there are people who may show their discontentment about your business of Facebook, the same feature of this site can help one to clear the business of any falsified claims against its products or services. One can address the customers concern immediately through the Facebook page, given the advantage of knowing your target customer. Facebook provide several assistances to marketers and other businessmen. The enormous number of users allows marketers an almost unlimited potential customer to market products or services. Fortunately for Facebook marketers, this site is now equipped with ad tools to be specific in choosing their target audience when launching their marketing techniques, well considering the age, sex and location of an individual among others.

As an Accessible Means of Communication

Facebook facilitates the transfer of information across the globe. It allows people who are physically distant with one another to stay connected by logging into this site. A Facebook user can communicate with others through the use of private messages, posts, comments and chats. This site can also allow for the communication of large number of people, for instance one can send a message on the Facebook wall and it will be read by all one’s friends on Facebook. This method of messaging can be done with a single person or with a several others. Currently most of the individuals particularly the youths are bent on to diverse social media such as Facebook to keep in continuous interaction with families and friends. Another advantage of using Facebook is the online sharing of information and material amongst the diverse assemblies of folks. The online distribution of information likewise encourages the improvement in the communication skills among users mainly among students. Facebook can also be used as study tool from which students can interact with each other in a close group that was created specifically for their class. With this setting, the teacher may also encourage further communication and instruction through this page.
Undoubtedly, there are disadvantages of the use of Facebook as a means of communication. While it allows for the constant communication through messages and posts, there is nothing like physical presence. In a recent research, despite the popularity of Facebook, the prevalence of relationships being broken due to distance has increased considerably. This proved that the use of Facebook as a communication tool does not at all help in maintaining relationships. As discussed earlier, the online sharing of information can have its dangers as the personal information entered into the Facebook profile can be vulnerable to information theft that may sometimes result to an individual becoming a victim of scam. Teachers and students are also being disadvantaged for their use of Facebook as a leaning tool. This is because Facebook has many distractions such as games, inappropriate photos and other malicious contents that should be disallowed to become part of the life of a student. Sometimes the tools offered by Facebook are misused by other people making other innocent individuals fall prey to their misconduct or undue behaviour. This is also not discounting the fact that one may waste time and procrastination while on Facebook.
While the above claims can be true, communication through Facebook served to be the most popular means to reach out to one’s family and friends. Facebook communication intensifies the consciousness of people of the things that is happening around the globe. The reason why people prefer to sue Facebook is because of the seemingly close interaction that can be derived from using this site. In a recent survey conducted particularly among first year students, it was revealed that they have adjusted to campus life easily through the use of this social media (Gafni and Deri, 2012). Students with low self- esteem found it easier to socialize with their classmates and other students after being friends with them on Facebook. Though Facebook was not originally intended as a learning platform, it is now widely and effectively used by many educators to encourage learning among students. With the effective and wise use of the Facebook applications, there is no doubt that this social media can be sued as an important promotional tool for learning.

Conclusion

Despite the claim among people that Facebook can have diverse undesirable effects, researchers showed otherwise. Facebook usage does have positive effects to individuals who constantly log in their Facebook. Workers who were given a few minutes break to check on their Facebook page revealed that they feel more relax after minutes spent on Facebook showing that this can have a restorative effect to individuals. It is related to a few minutes snack where one can be relax of even a few minutes of stopping by from work. Facebook can also be used as a significant technique that can be used to promote ones business. One can post pictures, videos and texts about the business on Facebook and let other people know about it. The large number of Facebook users allows one to have an access to the almost indefinite number of Facebook users. There are downsides of using Facebook in endorsing one’s business. One is the susceptibility of Facebook profiles or accounts from being manipulated by hackers. However, this can be remedied by a person making a resolved to be knowledgeable about potential risks on Facebook. This social media can also be used to enhance communication among people across the globe. Families who are living distantly can be reached through messages and posts on Facebook. In addition to these benefits of Facebook, it was already being used by many educators as a learning platform due to its popularity among students.

References

Gafni, R., Deri, M., Costs and Benefits of Facebook for Undergraduate Students. Retrieved from www.ijikm.org
Greenfield, R., 2011. Keep Wasting Time Online at Work, It’s Better for Productivity. The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved from bschool.nus.edu
Queensland Government. Benefits of Facebook for Business. Retrieved from https;//www.business.qld.gov.au
Wade, J. 2010. The Risks of Social Media: Decreased Worker Productivity. www.riskmanagementmonitor.com