Facebook/Myspace Audience Profile

Begining this blog was difficult because I could not get off of Facebook . It seems like every time I am on a computer, my media locus switches autopilot mode on and I am hooked to this social network for a while.
I am restarting my blog on the count that I have just procrastinated for 2 hours and 3 minutes on facebook, instant messaging and gmail. This alone brings me to my first point on how the internet is bad. It distracts meand absorbs my attention and often keeps me from doing other things in life such as homework and other things on the computer. This is why these blog assignments are even harder because of the fact that facebook is so easily accessible. Facebook is also bad because of the creeps who take part in the act of "facebook stalking." This is dangerous because people who you do not know but are in your network can still view your profile. This is even worse on Myspace because one can view anothers profile regardless. Also, Myspace does not have networks so it is a lot easier to create an alias. Lastly, Myspace and facebook are one big advertisement. Everything you click has a link to an Ad and now even viruses promote fake sites to contaminate other computers.
As bad ase these sites seem, they do have good things about them. I am from New Jersey and it is easy to keep in touch with my friends because of Facebook. I can message them whenever I want to talk or just look at pictures when I feel homesick. It is nice not having to endure a 2 and a half hour plane ride everytime I want a little piece of New Jersey. Another good thing about Facebook is that it allows people to get to know me better by looking at my profile vice versa. The info page includes favorite types of music, movies, and other cool information to see whether people share common interests. This allows you to get to know people past a first impression and can often lead to better friendships. Lastly, it is a great way to run an organization or recruit members. For the DePaul Club Lacrosse team, we all communicate practice and game schedules through facebook. It is easy because everyone has one and it makes the team more organized.
If I were to create a niche audience for these sites it would be anyone from freshmen in high school til the age where people want to stop being socially connected through the internet. Whether it's being single at 40 or wanting to share pictures of children, adults seem to be adapting to thse sites and using them as frequently as kids. The site is borderline addictive and it is the only media that is directed towards almost all of America. In some cases it is addictive. Many people live their lives as aliases on these sites and spend all of their days on them. I do not know how many hours a day one should be on these sites because in reality, it varys. But if i had to make an estimate, I feel like an average of one hour per day should be sufficient. If one is somewhat media literate and can control their usage, these sites are not too harmful.