Is it worth being on FB?

Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networking websites on the Internet. Each day countless numbers of people flock to Facebook.com and join up with visions of reconnecting with people and having the ability to maintain contact with people they know.

There are many advantages to becoming a Facebook member and once you've successfully integrated yourself as a savvy user you'll see just how Facebook is a great tool to use for many purposes.

That being said, you should be aware there are some significant drawbacks to Facebook as well. After you get started, chances are you'll begin to see the disadvantages. The good news is once you recognize the drawbacks, you can avoid these pitfalls and make your experience an advantageous one.

Here are a few of the top disadvantages of Facebook:

*Time Consuming

Most people find after becoming a Facebook member that interaction tends to become time consuming. If you are hard-pressed for time, it's important to set time limits for yourself or you'll likely find it's highly possible to lose valuable time that could have been more productive elsewhere.

The time consuming aspect of Facebook doesn't have to be a problem as long as you don't let it and stay in control.

*Facebook Addiction

Some people find once they've become immersed in the Facebook culture they become addicted. Depending on your perspective, spending too much time on a single website with nothing else to show at the end of the day may be a huge disadvantage.

Many find once they log into Facebook and begin poking around profiles, walls, groups, applications and the plethora of other activities Facebook offers, hours have gone by. This can become a problem in one's personal or professional life if the time spent on Facebook begins to take hold of one's life.

For those who are prone to log-in constantly all day long to check out what's happening in their circle of Facebook friends, this may become problematic, especially if feeds are sent to e-mail and cell phones with new updates that make constant log-ins compulsory.

A Facebook addiction can be construed as a disadvantage because of inordinate amounts of time spent on the website and self-imposed time limits aren't set. It's important to recognize the addiction signs so a Facebook membership doesn't become a problem.

*Privacy Considerations

Any time you open any sort of online account, you give up a degree of privacy. While most sites the private information you enter remains between you and the website, in the case of Facebook.com, there is potential to expose a lot of personal information on the web for all to see.

On the plus side, Facebook does offer tools to help you mitigate this and control your user experience. By using these tools you can customize how much or how little you want the Facebook, or even the Internet, communities to see.

However no matter how rigid you set your privacy settings, it is important to realize that nothing is foolproof and by joining Facebook you will lose a level of privacy. Always keep in mind you cannot control what interaction happens on your Facebook friends' pages and that you may end up in photos or comments you cannot control. Always be careful what you comment on.

*Risk to Professional Life

Another big downside to social networking sites is that they tend to expose sides of people which are very different from professional personas. Be aware that it is not uncommon for potential employers or current bosses routinely surf social networking sites on applicants or employees.

While you may customize your own settings to keep outsiders from seeing your interactions, as indicated with the privacy issues, you cannot control what happens outside the scope of your own profile page. A friend may post last weekend's party photos highlighting your name or other unflattering images or comments which show up in search results. This can wreak havoc in one's professional life.

For the most part, being a Facebook member can be a great experience as the website is a fun and interesting place to interact. The key to having a successful experience is to be aware of the disadvantages and protect yourself by using the tools Facebook provides and combine this with common sense.

The bottom line is Internet is a public forum and any sort of interaction on Facebook has potential to go outside the scope of your control. However as long as you educate yourself on the disadvantages of Facebook, you can better protect yourself from the drawbacks and have a positive experience as a member.