To Facebook, Or Not to Facebook?

A few years ago, let's say about three, I felt like a rare breed; I was part of an endangered species comprised of high school students (truly, comprised of humans in general) that did not have his/her own Facebook page. I had absolutely no use for it, and frankly, I thought it was stupid. Then my cousin helped me sign up just for fun...Almost three years later, I check up on Facebook at least once just about everyday, but strangely, my opinion about the social networking site has barely changed. It is completely unnecessary to human life, even in the western world, and it seems rather silly to me (just because of the way people behave on it and how seriously people  seem to take it). However, I won't harp on the site too much--I can't stand hypocrites and refuse to become one. I have a Facebook page. I check it often (I'm also a procrastinator, so I check it a little too often sometimes).
There are obvious benefits to Facebook. Mostly small ones, but still, benefits. The advantages that Facebook provides include reconnecting to old friends (but, really, once you "friend" an old acquaintance on the internet, do you really rekindle the same exact relationship you had before?), collaboration and help on schoolwork, funny pictures of cats and memes, so on and so forth. Of course, as we've discussed so many times before, there are always risks. There are obvious risks, such as the predators out to get your children and also those out to get your financial identity. Weak individuals tend to allow themselves to fall victim to even weaker individuals we usually call "bullies." Lastly, there is that quasi-omniscient presence of market researchers that are watching you like a digital hawk named "Big Brother." Though market research (probably) will never hurt you physically or emotionally, who really wants big corporations to know you?
Bazelon's article "Why Facebook is After Your Kids" made me think about children on the internet. If it isn't already apparent, that just isn't a topic that I think about often. I also knew very, very little about laws regarding market research and children on the internet. Because of this article, I now know that issues regarding children and the internet that go beyond child exploitation and pornography do, in fact, exist within the government.