Hardly a day (or seemingly a minute) goes by without millions of people logging on and checking their profiles on the social networking Web site. While many increasingly wary people delete their profiles, such a drastic measure is not necessary. What is necessary is a reevaluation of why people our age should use Facebook.

Facebook is an incredibly powerful tool for maintaining friendships. It’s not for meeting people and starting new friendships. Nor is it for finding that one person who was your best friend in kindergarten but haven’t seen in 10 years. Facebook is a tool for strengthening existing friendships.

It’s essential for incoming freshmen. There is no better way to keep track of the dozens of new people you meet in the first month of freshman year. Facebook makes contacting these new friends easier and (sometimes) less awkward. Freshmen who lack a profile on the site are, for better or worse, at a disadvantage when it comes to making new friends in college.

Students also benefit from Facebook because they can easily contact their friends from high school. The distance and new experiences of college can put strains on these existing relationships, but Facebook is an easy way to keep in touch with high school friends.

Admittedly, after freshman year Facebook becomes a little less relevant because there is less importance placed on making new friends. But it still has its uses.

Facebook is incredibly helpful for group projects in classes and any other time many people need to coordinate their schedules without exchanging other contact information. Facebook’s event invitations, though sometimes annoying, have virtually replaced personal word-of-mouth invitations to parties, concerts and other social events.

As we grow more accustomed to Facebook, it is easy to underestimate just how much we use it. It is easy to criticize because it is so prevalent and so often misused. Who really wants to be a fan of fist pumping, Bob Saget, or “I hate it when my mom dies?” Does it really matter if a pickle can get more fans than Nickelback? No, but it does matter if your friends are trying to publicize an event, post pictures of something they enjoyed or show you a silly link. These actions are little but important and keep people linked together, despite any physical distance between them.

That’s what Facebook and the Internet are about: bringing friends together and sharing information.

 

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