Facebook attracts millions of users every single day - and like all social networks it often also attracts criticism and negative comment. Headlines in newspapers event went so far a couple of years ago to claim that "Social networking causes cancer", following claims that overuse of computer screens could be linked to certain cancers. The claims were later debunked, but the newspapers had a field day, saying that the extra use of computer screens was largely down to online activity and therefore the social networks must be at the root of cancers. It was all nonsense, but indicative of the commonly held view that these "new fangled" things must be inherently bad.
Those views, though, ignore the immense good that social networks like Facebook have done. Indeed, Facebook has many more positive effects than it is often credited with.
For instance, just consider the amount of reading and writing that young people are now doing every day, simply because they are using Facebook so much. For decades education experts have been repeatedly saying that literacy skills need improving and that reading is an essential component in that. Yet, encouraging children to read is immensely difficult when surrounded by TV and Video Games. Now, though, thanks to Facebook, children and teenagers have started reading again - much more than ever before in many cases. Facebook is helping to improve literacy.
Another hidden benefit of Facebook is that people are learning to be nice to each other more than before. In closed groups of friends it is much easier to be nasty - such as in the school yard. But on Facebook, if you are nasty you are criticized by many people - often by people you do not know. It helps you to understand that your views are not representative and helps youngsters learn that there are other viewpoints. Without Facebook, that has been much more difficult to achieve.
Of course, there are more well-known positive effects of Facebook, such as its role in the downfall of dictators and tyrannical regimes. Equally, in the United Kingdom when people rioted in London, Facebook came to the rescue to help arrange volunteer squads of positive-minded individuals who did an impromptu clean-up of the capital's streets. Without Facebook, such positive social and community projects would be nigh-on impossible to organize. Facebook is bringing communities together.
And then we should not forget that couples have met each other through Facebook, even getting married. Plus, Facebook has also enabled friends to reunite having lost contact over the years. The social network is putting people in contact with each other and thereby enhancing all sorts of relationships - grandparents can more easily keep in touch with their grandchildren, for example. Facebook is therefore helping maintain families.
Whilst Facebook - like almost anything else online - can have negative aspects, overall the social network has had several positive effects on society since it began.
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