The time is 9:30 pm and you have a lot of important works to do- five chapters to be read, and numerous assignments left. Oh, and internal exams from tomorrow. But then, you’d like to see the updated video status of “A Rare Michael Jackson video, a must watch”. Â Most of us have been there, and by there, I mean www.facebook.com. Most of the people of our age are on Facebook because it is a source of pleasure when we are at leisure. Over 901 million of people from the whole world are on Facebook, which means on an average 2 among every 13 people are on Facebook today. Â We post statuses to tell everyone about what is in our mind; relationships are being built online or through phones; keyboards and keypads and are finally becoming the keys to our heart.
Facebook is loved by of the youth because they share their happiness, joys, sorrows, etc. whenever they feel like. If we want to make a group announcement or any kind of statement we can just post it in a few seconds. Even celebrities are using it to meet their fans online. Sometimes Facebook is like the window to the world, everyone is there, each opinion shared is readily seen by all our friends and relatives, even strangers get to know so much about us, without even ever meeting us.
The youth at present are crazy about Facebook. We check the notifications everyday just before we close our eyes to sleep. We share all kind of experiences with our loved friends. We like the post and comment on the post by having a slice of bread toast.
The site also disturbs the youth as it is a powerful medium of entertainment. Online chat, video chat, group chat etc. are the time-killing practices among the youth when they should be really immersed in the educational work, and it’s just because of temptation they pop into the chat boxes.  But Facebook helps to politicize the today’s youth. As there are many events and campaigns, which are going on in the Facebook  starting from protest against the ‘Petrol hikes’ to the support for ‘Free Tibet’. Facebook is also a kind of online theatre to everyone. It is just like a circus ring to the youth where once its entertainment is known, it can be used in any form- positive or negative.
“By giving people the power to share, we’re making the world more transparent,” says Mr Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind Facebook. But sharing is not always good; it after all led to the birth of many hackers on Facebook who are busy keeping many profiles and conning people on the site. So can the youth be a reason for change? Yes! It is in our hands to overcome it. Don’t use Facebook to manipulate, instead use it to motivate. The youth usage and activity on Facebook must be to enjoy the humour, to maintain friendly relationships, and to gain information or form opinions. Use it for a good cause; all this is in our hands as we are the “youth”. Hence we must give a new look to the Facebook!