Facebook is likely to decrease in popularity due to its increasing limitations

I will argue the Con side to this debate and argue that Facebook is not likely to decrease in popularity due to its increasing limitations. Example 1: Timeline In the article that Pro cited, he forgets the main statements made that negates his point. First: "Facebook insists that it will not make anything publicly available which is not already viewable. " Second: "Timeline does not change any of your existing privacy settings. " And so on. The majority of this article is stating the benefits of the timeline feature to one's privacy. It also makes the point that Timeline will make people more aware of what they post. Being that this is true, seeing posts from the past that one may not like, will convince them to look over what they post before they do. Also, before Timeline was officially released, Facebook gave the users a week to remove anything on their profile that they did not want to be viewable. This raises the question of why would people post anything that they would one day not want to be viewable by their friends? The question is not the format that the information appears, but the information itself. People do not like the Timeline feature because it shows them that in the past, they were not aware of how public Facebook really was. Example 2: Facebook's move for a public stock offering has nothing to do with it's limitations, so this point will be thrown out immediately. Limitations: - too centralized - Facebook has to be centralized because it is a social networking website. Everything that goes onto Facebook goes through the Facebook network. Therefore, it has to be centralized, this cannot, and has not changed. - commercial - This is not a limitation to Facebook. Just because some people can spend money for points on games does not limit one's fun while playing that game. Otherwise, this is not even a limitation that would make people stray from Facebook. - no option to be anonymous - Facebook is a public networking site, the inability to be anonymous does not have an effect on people that are already on Facebook, this is also not a increasing limitation. Besides, you can, in fact, create another account under an anonymous name if you really pleased. - too addictive and distractive, almost like heroin - this is not a limitation, it will not be argued. - automatic photo and location tagging - this is also not a limitation, maybe an addition, if you may. This feature can also be turned off. - impose orders to reveal identity - Cross apply my argument that being anonymous on a social networking cite is counterproductive to an individual on this website. Facebook is essentially about publishing your identity online. - promote privacy to conceal fact that there really is no privacy - There are so many privacy settings on Facebook that this argument does not stand valid. If you want proof, just log on and go to privacy settings. This is also not a new limitation, privacy has increased over time. - safety against access by third parties not guaranteed - this is also not a limitation to the users of Facebook. Privacy settings themselves can block out third parties from viewing your profile. - claim no responsibility for unforced third-party access - If this is referring to colleges or employers that ask you for your email and password for Facebook, this is not Facebook's responsibility. If this is a problem to you, you are clearly not posting things you with to be "public. " This is the user's fault, not Facebook's. - much too large organization by revenue figures alone - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. - capital growth has gone suspiciously fast - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. - restricted only to adding people you know, no connecting to random strangers - I just went online and checked if I was able to add a stranger, and I was. This point proves invalid. - want to know everything about you, who you've ever known - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. You have the option to provide this information; the keyword here is "option. " - you're profile is a mere tool to make FB sick amounts of money - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. - once you're dead, you're profile is removed to save hard drive space and keep it sustainable - My friend who died 3 years ago had a Facebook account. It is still up, and people use it to post memories of him. - Follow your whereabout through your smartphone - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. You also have the option to not "check in. " - too much linked to your actual identity - Pro proposes that people use Facebook in order to conceal their identity from their friends. Essentially, this is untrue because Facebook is completely Public, and using it to hide who you are would make no sense. - ‘like' button is old fashioned, simple and annoying - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. Taking away this, however, like Pro would like to, would indeed limit the users of Facebook. - affects functioning in real life and true personal growth and development as opposed to virtual - This is not a limitation to Facebook users, or make them stray away from Facebook. It is their personal responsibility to grow and develop outside of Facebook. We cannot blame Facebook for everything. - limits human talent and growth potential - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. Cross apply my last argument here. - affects student grades - This is not a limitation to Facebook users. Cross apply my last argument here in the sense that it is a student's own initiative to learn that affects their grades, not Facebook. - makes one stupid - This is not a limitation to Facebook users, and not proven. Again, this is based on the initiative of the people, we cannot blame Facebook. These factors are important to refute, because if not, Facebook will be blamed before the student. If a college looks at a student's grades, under Pro's interpretation of what happens, they should say "Oh, it's okay, it was Facebook that made him get bad grades. " We all know that though this is a lovely excuse for a bad report card, it does not make sense. It is a person's fault, not Facebook's.