By Jocelyn Tolpin, Middle School Staff Writer

I was once told never to get a Facebook because it was too distracting. We were then visited by global speaker, Claire Diaz-Ortiz. Her argument was that Facebook could be used to connect to people around the world and help save the world. This had me thinking, was Facebook a good or a bad thing? I decided in order to truly learn about Facebook, I had to get one of my own. After a few days of having a Facebook, I reached the conclusion that even though Facebook can be a distraction, it is a great way to communicate with friends and family and even though only 27% of middle school students have Facebook accounts if we all connected, we could ultimately change the world.

The next day I woke up in the morning and my first thought was to check my Facebook. I quickly realized how quickly Facebook got to me. Students and teachers agreed with me that Facebook could easily become a huge distraction. Silvia Mejia told me, “It is very addicting and it takes away a lot of your time. You need control.” Mr. Ball told me, “It is possible for Facebook to become a distraction when students spend too much time on it and ignore more important activities in their lives–for example, exercise, nature, time with loved ones, and sleep.” I realized that Facebook could take away from valuable time.

Suddenly, a chat box popped up from my friends saying ‘Hi”. We then had a running conversation. I realized Facebook is a great way to communicate. Students agreed with me that Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends and family. Sam Fishbein told me, “I can connect with my grandma easier because she lives in Florida and I only see her for 4 weeks every year so I can talk to her as much as I want.” Facebook is a great tool to connect to people around the world. They say that the world is becoming smaller and it really is.

I began searching through Facebook to find if people were using Facebook as a tool to change the word. I found pages for raising breast cancer awareness and groups for feeding the homeless. People were really trying to change the world. Students and teachers believe that Facebook could be used for the greater good. Mr. Scerra said, “I believe in the power of communication, so I think Facebook can be a very powerful tool.” Clio Galea told me, “I think that Facebook could be used to help causes, and make people aware of things.” Facebook could ultimately change the world.

In the end, I figured that Facebook can be both a good thing, and a bad, depending on the person. It can be a distracting site, but it could also be used for the better. While only 3 sixth graders, 9 seventh graders, and 34 eighth graders have accounts, we could still connect to each other and other people around the world. Facebook alone cannot change the world, though. Facebook is a powerful weapon and can achieve magnificent things only if the people behind it are trying to. Mr. Caldwell said, “Facebook is just a tool.  By itself it cannot change the world.  It’s the people that are behind Facebook that will have to determine if Facebook can help change the world.”