You’re at a party with the music pulsating loud across the room. You make your way through the crowd and meet a stranger. As the party is about to come to an end, you ask the stranger for his or her number and they respond with “add me on Facebook.”

THE BEST

In a time where phone numbers and personal contact information is not needed to get a hold of someone, Facebook is becoming the tool in communication.
Students like Mary Barrera, 18, psychology major, use Facebook to keep in touch with distant family members.
“I use it to talk to my friends and family in Venezuela who I haven’t seen in a while,” Barrera said. “Facebook is also very informing.”
Facebook allows you to get into contact with people without an address or phone number. All that is needed is the name of the person you are trying to reach, allowing people to stay in contact with friends and family they may have otherwise lost.
“It is nostalgia with some true friendships, those friendships can be lost over time,” Matthew Cheung, English professor, said.
With an estimated 500 million people around the world using Facebook, according to Facebook, it has become an important tool in different aspects of people’s lives.
“We see connections that weren’t there or noticed before, such as friends of friends of friends; I like it, it makes us more connected but many people don’t realize it,” Jason Davidson, communications professor, said.
Networking is an important part of today’s society. Through networking, people can receive job opportunities as well as making connections that can become beneficial to their career.
However, we are in a time where people can head to social networking sites like Facebook in order to get a lead on a job, rather then head to the help wanted ads in a newspaper.
“Facebook is obviously a great networking tool because it emphasizes how we’re connected to each other,” Davidson said.
According to marketing-jive.com, being able to spread the word of a business, or branding, is also one of the top benefits of having a Facebook account.  It is said that, “Facebook can be a great resource for generating brand awareness,” as well as building relationships with consumers and prospects.
“It’s useful for business, a good way to cut marketing cost, Facebook slashes marketing down to almost nothing,” Cheung, said.
With the “what’s on your mind” status update, Facebook users can express if they are looking for a job and can see if others are looking for employees.
However, social networking isn’t only about improving careers; its original intention is about connecting people. Facebook is responsible for instant communication with old and new friends.
“Communication is easier, people in their 20’s probably use it as much as they use e-mail,” Cheung said.
Social causes and events are also something that can be spread through Facebook and bring attention from many. Users can create event invites or can post a link on their status bar. Within a matter of time, hundreds of people can be connected to any type of economic cause or event.
“It helps me promote my events on Facebook. I get more attention online and it also helps people avoid losing connections with one another,” Christian Voynaus, 21, fine arts major, said.
Whether it is an AIDS walk or a charity event for the recent Red Cross Japan relief; reaching out to people to help support a cause is one way people use Facebook.
“The advocacy is a positive, when people can post on Facebook, they can stop bad governments from annihilating people and alert people to injustices around the world and you hear about causes you wouldn’t necessarily hear about,” Francesca Bishop, professor of communication studies, said.

THE WORST

At the end of every ordinary day, she would come home from her job as a waitress and sign on to Facebook to reconnect with the excitement of the world that she was isolated from at the start of her work day. This day, however, was no ordinary day.
Geena Ramirez, 19, film major, came home that night to a month-long journey of being stalked by a man on Facebook who she barely knew.
She got a message from a man with whom she shared a mutual friend and being the sociable type, she responded.
“At first, everything was normal,” she said. “But then he started to ask me where exactly I lived and what color my car was, and then he said he wanted to meet.”
The fact that a man who she knew was in a relationship was being so persistent and inappropriate sent up a red flag in her mind.
“It’s stupid, but because I was so new to Facebook, I didn’t know I could just block him.” Ramirez said. “Instead, I started avoiding Facebook because I was scared to check my mail.”
Amanda Brown, 19, art major, exercises great caution when using Facebook. While she has never run into a problem herself, she knows the trouble that it can cause.
“I know a guy who was kicked out of his parent’s house because his parents  saw drunken pictures of him on Facebook,” Brown said. “I’m really careful about what I pose because my mom is one of my friends.”

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