Friday, July 23, 2010

Only Half of the Story

Facebook recently launched a campaign to celebrate reaching 500 million users. Called Facebook Stories, the point is to let users share quick blurbs about how Facebook has affected their lives.

Browsing through a few of the stories, they seem to be overwhelmingly positive...

Almost surprisingly positive, especially considering how damaged Facebook's image has been in the wake of changes and a heated privacy debate over the past couple of months.

And yes, I understand why there's so much positivity. People who hate Facebook have probably stopped using it, and anyone who's indifferent is not going to care enough either way to write a story. That leaves only those who are loyal to Facebook to share their stories.

But we all know Facebook isn't all rainbows and puppies like Facebook Stories makes it out to be. It's been a tool for online harassment and bullying, it's destroyed relationships, and led us as a society to completely redefine the nature of privacy and communication.

I'm not saying Facebook is evil, just that it's not the beacon of peace, love and hope that it's portrayed as. Facebook Stories could have been a platform to hear a balance of good and bad aspects of the social network, instead of the polarized love-hate view that we see around the blogosphere.