etomasic-blog

[etomasic-blog]

Is Facebook Immortal?

I haven’t been an active Facebook user since about 2012, and I was kind of under the assumption that people (at least) my age, were dropping the site altogether. After watching the Social Network for my term paper and learning that Facebook has over 2.7 billion users still, I wondered, will this supernova social media site ever die? Facebook has been dealing with privacy issues regarding their messages and personal information, issues Zuckerberg admitted to US Congress, saying that his company needed to improve their security so these data leaks won’t happen. Data leaks as well as fake news and data harvesting are a few reasons why people would quit, but will the pros ever outweigh the cons? A Princton University study in 2014 claimed that Facebook would lose 80% of its users within the next few years. This at first seemed possible, with 2 million users under the age of 21 quitting in 2018. Even though 2 mil might seem like a lot, users over the age of 60 who either just haven’t been active or have just discovered Facebook as a way to stay connected to younger relatives, still balance out any “sizable” amount of users quitting. Facebook also has a humane aspect which will forever be popular. With Facebook, people can discover and stay in touch with long lost friends and relatives, can be put on to new ideas, products, opinions, and perspectives, from an infinite number of sources on the website, and with a simple interface, almost anyone can use Facebook successfully. Due to these factors, I think it will be a while before this powerhouse ever dies. 

[etomasic-blog]

Are Video Games still a reliable Escape?

My brother is completely addicted to Fortnite. I hear things no 14 year old should be saying, screamed out of his room at the top of his lungs while he voice chats the people who he is playing with or against. I used to and still use video games as a stress reliever and source of enjoyment, away from the real world. I now wonder if that is the same feeling of the next generation of gamers. I personally would not feel relaxed if I had someone yelling curse words and racist remarks into my ear via headset. A Fortnite streamer and professional gamer Kristen “KittyPlays” Valnicek, stated that she was called “fat” or “ugly” growing up while gaming, and it would really depress her. One time her family saw her after playing and she looked so distressed that they called the police in fear of their house getting swatted, which is when people call in a fake emergency to your location with the intent of a swat team showing up. This prank has dire consequences. In 2017, Kansan Andrew Finch was killed during a false swat. The perpetrator, Tyler Barris, was found guilty and sentenced to 20-25 years in jail. The video game world is and forever will be expanding, but if logging into a chatroom just to lose one game and then get mauled with offensive comments and threats is all I have to look forward too, then my interests could waiver.