Impact of Facebook on Young People’s Daily Life (A Sociological study of community schools of Pokhara)

Abstract

The Social Networking System (SNS), Facebook, launched in 2004 by the founder Mark Zuckerberg, is one of the most important breakthroughs in the 21st century. The majority of the Facebook users are school, college or university going people. Nowadays there won’t be anyone who doesn’t has his or her Facebook account and having Facebook account means long hours will be spent on Facebook. Therefore studies are very much affected due to use of Facebook. Pupils now even use Facebook during the class, while paying lesser attention to the lecturer. This study examines the impact of Facebook on young people’s daily life. Empirical data was collected from 200 students studying in grade 11 in different faculties; Science, Education, Humanities and Management in Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City using a questionnaire survey. The social dimension of Facebook users in current study are such that the young people use it for different purposes in different dimensions in diverse context. It has been used to be up-to-date with close friends, childhood friends, to connect with relatives who are face off and to keep records of events. Facebook has its own types of positive impact in the lives of the young people. People can get knowledge on the different issues; feel the social security and so on through the use of Facebook. Young people spend a lot of time in browsing the network, particularly, the Facebook, as they find it the best form of communication mode. It is fun to use Facebook and Twitter, but there are negative influences if one spends too much time on them. Social media is becoming popular and even official communication is carried out on them as well as personal. The results of this analysis can be used to understand the Facebook pattern and its impact on the lives of young people. This study reveals that Facebook can have negative impact by wasting the time, affecting the health, ruining relationship, less face to face interaction, creating privacy problems, physical health, mental health by leading to web addiction, feelings of loneliness, narcissism, stress, and body dissatisfaction, and socially altering the traditional familial systems that has existed since the beginning of human life.