7 Possible Problems You May Encounter When Using Facebook (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Depression

Sharing pictures of your family and posting status updates about all of the awesome things that you do may seem completely innocent, but it is actually one of the ways Facebook causes problems for its users. Why? Because users of the site who are down on their luck may look at all of these impressive posts and pictures, compare them to their own lives and actually start feeling depressed themselves. Like I said, it may seem innocent to you, but think about how someone who is down on their luck might feel when they see all of those countless posts about other people and their super awesome lives. Psychological studies compiled by Psychology Today show that social comparison on digital platforms directly correlates with increased anxiety and depressive feelings.

2. Cyber Bullying

Bullying has always been a problem among kids and teenagers, but thanks to social media sites like Facebook, bullying has risen to a whole new level. Bullies have been found to write not only mean, but really hurtful posts on the walls of those that they bully, and they've even posted incriminating pictures. Since anyone who is friends with the person who is being bullied can see those mean posts and photos, well, you get the idea... This new breed of bullying in the 21st century has been coined "cyber bullying." Organizations like the Cyberbullying Research Center highlight how online harassment can affect mental health, making awareness and active blocking critical for every user.

3. Snooping

Yep, Facebook has also become an easy way to snoop on other people. Unless you set your profile to completely private, anyone can look you up and check out your pictures and your status updates. Heck, even if you have set your profile to private, those people whom you are "friends" with, but not really "friends" with have a looking glass into your life. Learning how to manage your audience lists is an essential step in protecting your privacy online.

4. Safety

This one goes along with snooping and bullying. Believe it or not, your safety can be jeopardized because of Facebook. If you're being spied on or bullied, your safety can become a certain issue. Your whereabouts can be found, thanks to Facebook, which can lead to a safety concern. To audit your account security, review the official recommendations on the Meta Privacy Center.

5. Time Sucker

Facebook has become famous for being a big time sucker. It can be accessed across all platforms, which means it can be viewed anytime, anywhere. Start looking around on Facebook and before know it, you've wasted a big span of time and haven't attended to the things that you really need to get done. Oops! If you find yourself scrolling endlessly, consider exploring mindful digital well-being strategies to reclaim your productive hours.

6. Privacy

There is a total lack of privacy today, thanks to Facebook. While it is up to you what photos you post of yourself and your family, and you may choose to not share specific photos, your friends and family can easily post and tag photos of you that you don't want shared. I knew someone who had just given birth to her first child and her friend posted photos of her and her newborn, right after delivery, all over Facebook! She was mortified and greatly upset because it was her special moment and not something that she wanted everyone else to see. Setting strict tag-review permissions can prevent unwanted photos from showing on your profile.

7. Fights

Have you ever been de-friended, or worse, blocked, from a user on Facebook? I have, and while I shouldn't have been, I was actually offended. It's kind of like someone is directly saying to you, "I don't like you," or "You aren't good enough to view my profile." I've since gotten over it, but puh-lease!!!!

So, there you have it; my opinion of why Facebook causes problems. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly positive aspects of this social media site, and they do outweigh the cons. Heck, I check my profile a few times a day! I'm simply saying that it has been known to cause problems. What's your stance?