Paper Example on Facebook: Social Media Giant Leveraging Web-Based Technology

Introduction

The innovation of web-based technology has contributed to the establishment of different social media platforms, which promote the growth, distribution, and organization of social media solutions and services. Facebook is one of the primary social media giants that allows the users to sign-up for free profiles, connect with other individuals across the world, share aspects such as pictures, articles, videos, and music as well as opinions on different social, political and economic matters. Since the period of the Facebook invention to its current existence, this social media platform has undergone serious transformations. These transformations have been both positive and negative. This research paper aims at discussing how "Facebook has transformed from Superhero to Arch Villain." The paper also focuses on giving future recommendations for Facebook, which would help in boosting its anticipated benefits in the contemporary world.

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Benefits that Facebook Brought After Invention

In 2004, February 4, Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook and considered it as a social media platform that would make the world a better place to live and connect. During its invention, Mark indicated, "A more open and connected world is a better world. It brings stronger relationships with those you love, a stronger economy with more opportunities, and a stronger society that reflects all of our values" (Elgot, 2015). After Facebook was developed, business persons were able to build a secure business network and promote their products to a more extensive customer base. People were able to search for different jobs and get employed via the platform. The users were able to find their old pals with whom they had lost connection for a long time. Facebook allowed individuals to get recent updates and learn new things. After a busy daily routine, Facebook became an effective way of entertaining oneself because it contained different games that a person could play and chat with multiple friends when interested. All the above benefits are still enjoyed up-to-date. Nonetheless, the dangerous side of the social revolution that Mark Zuckerberg helped in starting has become a reality.

Dangerous Side of Facebook Witnessed During its Transformation Period

Through the use of Facebook, individuals' privacy has been altered and misused. The users are required to give their private information when signing and setting up their free profiles (Rosenthal et al., 2019). These aspects include the user names, email addresses, date of births, dwelling places, name of their schools, their status, phone numbers, and favorite sport, among others. The privacy settings are frequently changed, and users find it challenging to keep up. The amazing thing is that users are always willing to hand over their information to enable them to create an account and connect with friends (Tuttle, 2018). It is unclear how much user information Facebook has collected and what is likely to be done with the data in the future. There is a vast difference between the use of real and deceitful Facebook-self. The use of false Facebook-self has adverse consequences, especially when crimes are committed. The identity of a criminal can be confused with that of an innocent person.

Additionally, Facebook has become prone to security breaches, whereby people's accounts are often hacked and used to conduct malicious activities. Facebook privacy settings are not easily accessible, especially by new users. This encourages the users to share information more openly, and this allows Facebook to compile individuals' details into a unique profile that assists advertisers in promoting the things that these users prefer most in their respective pages. Ultimately Facebook benefits from these advertisements, but it does not keep the information about its users private as it exposes it to advertisers, who are ready to use it for marketing purposes.

Facebook has been made an essential tool for organizing revolutions (Arafa & Armstrong, 2016). It has made regime change easier to organize and execute in different nations. The users can converse with each other and arrange for demonstrations or protests against any government issue that they are not comfortable with. Social media platforms such as Facebook have made it difficult to sustain an authoritarian regime even for hardened autocracies such as Myanmar. Protestors prefer using Facebook because it is effective in lowering the cost of participation by organizing, recruiting, and training them on the specific steps that require to be followed during the demonstration. Egypt is one of the nations that has increased Facebook users who organize and initiate civil-disobedience campaigns as well as street actions (Abdulla et al., 2018). People are inspired and motivated to go from the comfort of their houses and cause chaos on the streets as they face off against the government. Facebook facilitates protests movements to be nimble in selecting the day of actual action. The information is spread like wildfire, and instead of planning campaigns around fixed dates, demonstrators can reach millions of people of adherents with a single Facebook post. Although the government can come up with experts who track the protestors via the IP addresses, the protest leaders are also intelligent in avoiding government monitoring through the use of proxy servers. These leaders also create a Facebook group to build a following to disseminate information and plan new events. Although protestors aim at seeking change, freedom, and justice from an authoritative government, the running battles that occur between the demonstrators on the streets and police may trigger the increased death of civilians. These have happened in many non-peaceful demonstrations where the protest leaders arrange to protest without government knowledge. Therefore, Facebook has played a crucial role in triggering protest crimes that lead to massive destruction of properties and escalated deaths of the civilians.

Another dangerous side of Facebook that has been observed from the time it was invented to the current moment is the ruining of people's relationships (Ridenour, 2019). When people chat on Facebook, they consider having met and shared time. Additionally, people have no time to spend together because they are hooked to likes, follower counts, and favorites. This has made individuals lose their inner compass, which has robbed people's fellow human beings' consideration, humanity, and true friendship. Facebook users have become more capable than ever, and they do not need to guess, memorize, or bluff information to acquire or share ideas because any information required is exposed on the platform. In this perspective, the social media platform can process multiple varieties of knowledge and relational connections at once. Thus, individuals do not need to meet with their mates to discuss these ideas as they were initially trapped within ordinary human limits. When an individual is faced with a particular problem, people take their time in consoling the person via Facebook instead of physically reaching unto him or her. Also, people are asked to make donations via the network where a group is created to monitor the nature of the contributions. In this regard, Facebook has dramatically facilitated online connection and lost the physical as well as friendship connection among people.

Facebook has become a significant platform for spreading all forms of news, including fake news (Guess et al., 2018). Political, social, and economic news is all available on Facebook. Individuals consume a lot of time trying to get updated on current events. Criminals have taken advantage of posting fake news to mislead the people and benefit from those who are easily deceived. Misleading information is intentionally dressed up to appear like news articles, which generate ad revenue.

Moreover, Facebook is highly used by politicians to spread misinformation during the election period. This misleading content has a powerful impact that, at times, affect the election outcome. Hoax information is used in convincing people to elect a particular politician who may not be competent enough to manage the government. This becomes successful by posting the politician's accomplishments, which are usually exaggerated. Entrepreneurs are also highly involved in spreading fake news whereby they enter or exit the market over time. In this perspective, they shut down the already discovered misleading sites and open new ones with a clean reputation. The widespread of false news has been harmful to the contemporary community as it makes the world less knowledgeable and destroys dependence.

Another dangerous side of Facebook is that it has led to much time wastage, especially for young people (Ali & Lodhi, 2017). Individuals are spending their precious time on mere entertainment, which has facilitated Facebook addiction. The time spent on Facebook affects people's productivity and family life as spouses complain that more time is used in chatting with people who are many miles away instead of people living in the same home. Bullies use Facebook's inception to do their worst behind the protection of the digital screens. Some people spread videos of immorality to spoil other people's minds and ethical behavior. Other individuals have learned how to post photos of their lives that is usually faked and exaggerated. This makes others feel sad about their humdrum lives. Individuals compete to show off their fruitful lives, which is often forged, and this plays a crucial role in undermining well-being.

Strategies That can be Implemented to Control the Dangerous Transformation of Facebook

A long-term technological plan needs to be developed for Facebook users. Apart from promoting connections among friends, Facebook should be able to establish social infrastructure for the community (Keles, 2018). Artificial intelligence applied on the social media platform should not only discover risks more quickly and accurately than would have already happened but also discover threats that nobody would have flagged at all, such as terrorists planning attacks using private channels. Although the development of such systems can take a long time, it would be better to initiate effective plans so that users can stop misusing Facebook through the spread of criminal activities. In this perspective, an empire should be built to stand the test of time. Zuckerberg and his administration should modify Facebook's culture to enhance security. User information must be protected such that hackers cannot easily access it for malpractices. Business-persons and investors should have a special section in which they post their valid products' advertisements, which are safe for consumers.

The tech companies such as Facebook organization should hinder the spread of hoax news through disrupting the financial enticements for traffickers of misinformation. Most of the hoax news is monetarily inspired, and spammers benefit by masquerading as legal posting publishers that facilitate individuals to open their sites, which are typically represented as ads (Yap, Snyder & Drye, 2018). The third-party fact-checking administrations should recognize the fake news and control its spread, which brands it uneconomical for spammers. Strict enforcement policies should be implemented to ultimately hinder the chances of posting false news on the Facebook platform. In this regard, machine learning can be used in helping the response team in noticing fraud and applying strict measures against counterfeit accounts. Facebook detection of fake accounts should be made unique to prevent spammers from posting fake news. New Facebook products should be built to encourage users to make more informed decisions and share information...