After finishing my never-ending homework and completing my sweaty workout, the first item I head for is the black computer in my dad’s office. I sit down in the tall, dark chair and pull up Facebook automatically, almost as if I were in a trance. My fingers slide rhythmically over the smooth keyboard, and within seconds I am part of the online community. Immediately, I click on the tiny red box located at the top left of the screen that will list off my notifications. ‘Who commented on my status? Did anyone like my pictures from last weekend?’ Self-conscious thoughts fill my head. Was my status a dud? If so, I automatically go to my profile and delete the post. Next, I read through my newsfeed, which normally has no important information. After a while, boredom strikes, and I sift through photos that people have uploaded and throw in a few “likes” every now and then. Another fun feature of Facebook would be that it gives anyone the ability to “creep.” I find this incredibly helpful when I want to know more about a person (particularly about guys whom I like, and girls whom I don’t). After checking out someone’s wall, I suddenly realize that an hour of my time has been wasted on Facebook.

Honestly, I spend about an hour on Facebook every day. Happiness, joy, and excitement would definitely not describe the feelings I have while logged on. Instead, I have envy. I constantly think to myself, ‘I wish I could be like the girls who are completely popular and beautiful, 24/7.’ The bright pictures of girls with shiny white teeth who are hanging out with the cutest guys fill my mind with jealousy. No, I don’t have a clue who some of the girls are, but I am convinced they are ranked higher on the high school totem pole. It seems as if everyone adores them based on their pictures and comments that have twenty-five “likes” each. How does a website determine who is popular and who is not? I would love to know what happened to meeting a person then deciding what kind of person he or she is based on his or her personality and how the person acts. People should not be judged about who they are based on their Facebook profiles; however, I am regretfully guilty of doing it myself.
Facebook is only a small, edited window into people’s lives. People tend to make it seem as if they are “totally ready to conquer the world” every day of the week. Although their profile makes it seem as if they are living a great life, it could be the total opposite. This concept can be applied to anything online because looks are deceiving. The problem is that people are being judged based on their double lives on Facebook. For example, people constantly say, “Oh, she’s so annoying,” and if asked why, they reply, “I saw so on Facebook.” Half the time, the accuser has not even met the person in reality. How can someone be judged based on what is shown on a computer screen?

A status such as, “So upset. Going to bed. Don’t txt it” can be seen posted multiple times a week on Facebook. Updates like that can take my annoyance level with a person from a five to a ten. My first thought would be, ‘No one was going to text you anyways.’ (It’s a harsh thought, I know). Second, I would wonder why someone would even post that on Facebook. A simple solution to not getting a text message would be to turn the phone off. To deal with being upset, the person could have a face-to-face conversation with someone else in private to fix the situation. Instead of being reasonable, the emotionally unstable person posts it on the internet for everyone to see.

Readers are probably wondering, ‘If you have so many problems with Facebook, why do you have an account?’ I have a simple answer: Facebook is incredibly addicting. I always need to know who is doing what and how people are doing. Most of my newsfeed is garbage, but I feel as if I need to read through statuses and comments to get the latest “scoop” on what is happening at my small school.
Unfortunately, everything on Facebook goes back to judging people based on what is on their “wall.” Facebook is superficial, and does not compare to human interaction. If I could go back in eighth grade, I would save myself headaches and lost time by not signing up for a Facebook account. My hope is that people (including myself) will snap out of the fake “Facebook World” and jump into reality.