"5 ways Facebook changed us, for better and for worse" - Reblog w/ Commentary

I recently stumbled across a blog post on CNN.com that was about Facebook, and how it has changed us for the better and for the worse. Hence the title of the blog, duh! It was written earlier this year (way earlier, like January) by Doug Gross. The link to the blog can be found below:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/tech/social-media/facebook-changes/

Overall, I really liked this blog post. It was an interesting take on both sides of the spectrum, and the way the information was laid out was easy to read. The author mentions five ways Facebook has benefited us, and five ways that it hasn't. The following summarizes five good and bad aspects of this particular social media site:

The first good thing about Facebook that the author mentions is the ability to easily share information with anyone you want. I agree that this is a good and a bad thing. People may easily log onto the social media site and find events that they would like to attend. Baby showers, weddings, parties, etc. can all be handled on this website. However, I believe that this is also a bad thing because of the "digital divide." This digital divide can separate people when all invitations and event information is handled online. People without Facebook may not be invited to an event merely because they do not belong to the social media site. Many elderly people do not have social media, and therefore may be excluded from such events.

One good thing about Facebook that I would add that this author does not mention is it's ability to increase a persons physical social network. Although these social networking sites merely connect people through the internet, it serves as a entire database of people that you may know or are acquaintances with. This could strengthen social ties and maybe even help you one day down the road!