Social networking sites are one of the available means for people to connect to each other.

With sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Multiply, people are connected. This trend started with the rise of forums, chat services and file and media sharing sites, and combining these elements to create an integrated experience." THE Internet, for some people, is the way to live. With a diverse source of information and access to the latest breaking events in the world, knowledge can be attained with a simple click. The Internet, undoubtedly, has profound potential. The global linkage allows us to connect with other individuals and share our thoughts and ideas. Social networking sites are one of the available means for people to connect to each other. With sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Multiply, people are connected. This trend started with the rise of forums, chat services and file and media sharing sites, and combining these elements to create an integrated experience. To understand more about this behavior, we can also look into the traits of the Filipinos. Our history books state that Filipinos are born as curious people. Filipinos like knowing and finding new things and talk about it, and social network offer this. When Friendster became a hit on 2007, almost every high school and college student had at least one account registered. Filipinos, then, moved from simple chat room offered by MIrc and the like to Friendster. The same thing happened when finally Friendster went down the ladder and got replaced by Facebook and Twitter. Now, majority of people rely their source of information on these social networks, including the students. Media dependency theory by Martin DeFleur can be used to support more for us to dig deeper in this situation. This theory suggests that since the audiences learning from the real life is limited, so they can use media to get more information to fulfill their needs. An extensive use of media generates dependent relation in audience and also media can be able to create dependence relationship with target audiences to achieve their goals by using their media power, in this case online social networking sites. A lot of people then utilize these networking sites to facilitate discussion outside the classroom. For example, a lot of classes have their own groups in Facebook. This serves as a means for them to be informed of the requirements and homework they have to do, sharing with each other sources and sites for their materials to aid them in their tasks. In fact, people can share each other their assignments, allowing them to critique or supplement their classmates work. This hastens the whole process because they no longer need to immerse tons of time to search for data online.

On the other hand, the euphemism regarding the promulgation of learning virtually meets its contention in the form of distractions. Students may choose not to focus on their homework and do other things online. According to Claide Saludar, an instructor in Ateneo de Davao University, Facebook creates dependency for the students, because they will solely rely on their classmates for their requirements. To contend with this thought, Edin de Vera, a fourth year student, argues that Facebook could actually stimulate academic learning. Idea-sharing and formulation comes at a rapid rate because people are familiar with the medium they are using. Its much more interesting learning about something that you and your friends talk about instead of reading it from a boring, dusty old, hard to find textbook, he states. A research conducted by Jih-Hsin Tang, a Phd Candidate of National Cheng-Chi University, Taiwan empirically tested how social networks related to students performance. First, the social networks are actually positively related to the students positive result in terms of their performance at school. This is because the students learn from every piece of information they get regardless on from who or how they get the information. Second, these online activities done in the online social networking sites are not affecting students lives, nor it would harm. In this research, Tang also discussed about the possibility of the students getting distracted, but this cant be applied to all students. Habits and mindset still play their roles in this case. From these explanations, we can draw a conclusion that social networking site can be a tool for learning process of the students. But it comes back to the point where the students have to decide whether or not to utilize the social networking site to support their own development or mindlessly use it without any consideration of the responsibilities that await them.
FACEBOOK

During the first decade of the 21st century a popular and new word has come into our vocabulary. That word is Facebook. This is the most popular social networking website on the internet. If you havent heard about Facebook until reading this, then you must have been in a coma for the last 5 years. There are about 350 million active users on this website. The main idea of Facebook is that you can keep in touch with all your friends around the world who has Facebook. You can send messages to your friends electronic wall, put up a status saying something like Going to the mall, need to get a new pair of shoes or its finally the weekend! :). In the 350 million users on Facebook, 67% of them are between the ages of 13 -25. More than 35 million users update their status every day. 2.5 billion Photos are added each month. The highest age groups who use Facebook are teenagers. Most of them keep the website running whenever they are using the computer and general teens nowadays are always on the computer,

if they arent in school/college or when they arent asleep. I feel that teens should be focused on their school work or be socializing with their friends in person or exercising. Facebook is just changing the new generation of youngsters completely because the teenage life is one of the most important stages of life and wasting it on Facebook is not encouraging this in anyway. It is also a complete distraction to their mind; like nowadays when all their homework and research are on ICT, they would get diverted into Facebook just to check if there was anything updated among their friends. Remember back in the good old days, when teens would do their homework handwritten, play sports and hang out with friends. Today, most teens would only speak to their friends on Facebook, while we can see them battling obesity as they stare at their friends message on their wall. In summary, teens dont have a life because they are on Facebook 24/7, except for those who dont use Facebook or occasionally do. Facebook is also where people can see the gossip among their friends, virtual arguments, relationship status and updates, who is in whose top friends, you can become fan of anything, join groups, post pictures and videos, play juvenile games, invite friends to parties or events and a heap more. Mainly, all this would just disturb people into living life to their fullest. Its not just teens who become addicted even grownups do. An average person spends about 55 minutes on Facebook. This statistic isnt that bad but some people spend about 3-5 hours. Technology might be taking over peoples lives. The internet is what the youth does almost all the time and other growing social networking sites such as Twitter might become the next Facebook. Facebook is getting millions of dollars, in fact $300 million in 2008. Creator, Mark Zuckerberg is one young genius to change human lives drastically by changing their social environment. People can also access Facebook through their mobiles and more than 65 million active users access Facebook through their mobiles. Furthermore, people who use Facebook through their mobile phones are 50% more active on Facebook than non-mobile phone users. This shows that people who use Facebook on their phones as well as using it on their computer, just cant stand being away from the website. Facebook is like crack to some folks. I think people should also take a break from Facebook once in a while. This would make them think how life is like without saying whats on their mind to all their friends on the internet. A break would also make them more active, like socializing in person. This would also help them focus better in school or in work. If they are in school, they might get better grades because they arent being distracted. Although about 80% of people who take a break would come back to Facebook within days. Conversely, the social network does benefit common people. For example, if you are a student and youre writing an essay on your computer and need advice because you are stuck, you can just go online into Facebook and ask any of your friends who would help. Another way its a good service is because it is completely free to contact any of your friends who lives anywhere in the world; this is much better than calling someone on the phone which might be expensive to some people. In spite of all this, I firmly stick to my opinion.

On a whole, my view about the social network being a big time waster is a true fact according to me. Teenagers especially, should spend less time on Facebook and get some sunlight. Adults, who spend their days on Facebook, must be unemployed because they should have so much work to do or they could make this world a much better place by doing something productive! My opinion is not banning Facebook completely because I also agree you should log in sometimes and I recommend should go on for about 45 minutes a day, if you do have Facebook. So, this is my impression of Facebook. Im sure some part of you agrees with me.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER OF FACEBOOK MARK ZUCKERBERG

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American computer programmer and internet entrepreneur. He is best known as one of five co-founders of the social networking website Facebook. As of April 2013, Zuckerberg is the chairman and chief executive of Facebook, Inc.[6][7] and in September 2013 his personal wealth was estimated to be US$19 billion.[5] Together with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, Zuckerberg launched Facebook from Harvard's dormitory rooms.[8] The group then introduced Facebook onto other campuses nationwide and moved to Palo Alto, California, United States (U.S.) shortly afterwards. In 2007, at the age of 23, Zuckerberg became a billionaire as a result of Facebook and the number of Facebook users worldwide reached a total of one billion in 2012. Zuckerberg was involved in various legal disputes that were initiated by others in the group, who claimed a share of the company based upon their involvement during the development phase of Facebook. Since 2010, Time magazine has named Zuckerberg among the 100 wealthiest and most influential people in the world as a part of its Person of the Year distinction.[9][10][11] In 2011, Zuckerberg ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post and has since consistently topped the list every year as of 2013.[12][13] Zuckerberg was played by actor Jesse Eisenberg in the 2010 film The Social Network, in which the rise of Facebook is portrayed.[14]