Within the past few years Facebook has become so common that there are very few people who do not use it.

And why would it not be so popular?

It connects people, shares our photos, gives us a place to share ideas and presents us with the opportunity to speak our minds, among other advantages.0

But what if it is rapidly becoming more harmful than it is helpful?
What if it is actually hurting the way we go about interacting with others around us and living our lives?

There is no denying that Facebook takes up much of our time, especially as college students.
We log onto our laptop to type that 10- page paper that is due in a week and out of habit we also find ourselves signing into our Facebook account.

The majority of us are guilty of this.
It is one of many forms of procrastination that is easy to fall into when studying does not sound the least bit appealing.

For the most part, it is a harmless habit.
After all, we need a break between classes, do we not?
But Facebook really has the potential to become harmful when we see that little box at the top of the screen that reads “What’s on Your Mind?”

For some, this simple question is the opportunity to share minor details concerning what is new in their lives.

But for others, it is an invitation to really share everything that is on our minds; the good, the bad and the details that should really be kept private.

The majority of us can probably, very easily, remember a time we were hurt by a close friend or significant other and tempted to post something about them on Facebook.
It is fast, it is attention-catching, it is easy, it allows us to vent and it gives us an opportunity to be heard.

But what we usually do not think about when we are spilling our conflicts all over Facebook for hundreds to read is that we are allowing ourselves to react to situations in the wrong ways.
We are allowing ourselves to become passive-aggressive.

It affects our reputations each time we post something negative about another person because it reflects a maturity level that is way below college standards.

And yet at the same time, we do it without even realizing it.
Perhaps another thing Facebook causes us to do without realizing it is interacting with people in the wrong ways.

Rather than taking the time to talk to people in person, the majority of our interactions with others happen through Facebook.
In a way, it cheapens the way we experience our everyday lives.
Part of getting to know another person is talking to them and learning things about their life.
But when every detail about them is mapped out on Facebook in an easy-to-access format, we somewhat lose the need to put the effort in and get to know them. Aside from these negative effects of using Facebook too much, a lot of us have heard about the reports claiming that the site has been found to cause depression.

When we are constantly comparing our lives to the lives of other people, of course it will be easy to start feeling like we are less than what we really are at times.

However, the point I am trying to make is not that Facebook is a bad thing, but rather that it is being used in the wrong ways.

We depend on it too much. We are letting it take up too much of our focus and too much of our lives.

And by no means am I pointing any fingers, because what made me want to write on this topic was how much I have allowed it to become a problem in my own life.
What we should consider is how Facebook could possibly become a negative thing if we let it go too far.

Maybe it is time we should consider laying off the “newsfeed” a little bit. and focusing on the more important parts of our lives.

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