No one can deny that Facebook is one of the most important creations of this century , it has created a major impact on lives of its 1.7 billion users. It’s the third most accessed website on the planet according to alexa . It has direct influence over politics and elections across the globe.

But I have many reasons to think Facebook brings much more harm than any good you think:

1. We spend a lot of time on it compared to any other website , actually sometimes more than other activities in your life . Yeah, I know endless scrolling between news , friends updates and jokes .. etc is fun but is really worth it ?
2. Each one of us lives in his own bubble we and our tight community are like a herd of cattle echoing the same thing. We foolishly think Facebook has given us our own voice but if we think it thoroughly we’re merely an echo of someone’s  else. This is denoted as the echo chamber effect when users are more likely to share what aligns with their beliefs and simply ignore other parts of the narrative.
3. Our research skills deteriorate, the internet gave us the power of freedom and billions of different useful web pages but we are still imprisoned in our news feed acting as a receiver for Facebook’s algorithms output (which isn’t designed to educate you but to make sure you stayeb in front of the blue screen for as long as possible). We think that we are finally free from state controlled media but it’s completely the opposite we are still under control of media but instead of centralized TV it is decentralized as long as you act as a receiver you are not in control.
4. Based on this study which explains “The copy cat intellect phenomenon” , Facebook doesn’t only make us more stupid but it also tricks us into thinking that we are smarter than we actually are.
5. We are controlled by the constant hunger to feed our ego , a group of scientists took it far to link selfies to psychopathy .
6. Everyday while scrolling your feed you are like an athlete who is always looking behind and will eventually lose. A good point mentioned in this article is that Facebook shifts your focus from yourself to others . Instead of improving your life and taking care of your family and friends you are distracted with ongoing comparison of your life vs your rich friend or your sexy colleague ..etc.

To be honest this doesn’t solely apply to Facebook but other social media websites like Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat … etc. Social media is a tool it’s about how you use it so if you think what I am saying is valid there are few steps that I encourage you to take :

• Disable or limit the time you spend on your social media accounts, I have tried it and believe me though you are thinking you will miss a lot it’s not the case . You will eventually know this big piece of news from another source , your friend who is getting married and only invited you (beside 500+ others guy) through a Facebook event will not be really sad when you don’t show up. Get over it.
• Don’t give social media more than its worth . It’s fine if you use it to share some funny comics and have good laughs with your friends but that’s it. It’s not a place to get educated from Facebook celebrity smart opinions, it’s not the place to discuss politics or economics . THAT’S A BIG FALLACY, nothing really deeply thought of can be just composed  under a few minutes but real ideas that are worth reading take days and weeks and even years to develop and those can be found in books or articles .
• Read more , read a lot in any form : hard cover , audio books , credible articles , research papers . You have time and unlimited library of useful stuff on the internet . Use it.