On any given day, one of its 1.23 billion active users can scroll through Facebook to see pictures of their friends, memes, funny videos – and, occasionally, news articles. “Sometimes I use it to watch funny videos. Because whenever funny videos come up, I'll save them; those are really great. And I'll tag people in memes,” said Gabriella Katz, originally from Detroit, Michigan, now living in Israel. “Sometimes I find news there. Like random news.” Others use Facebook to convey their ideas or opinions, sometimes manifesting long-winded “political post rants” that can turn into heated debates between strangers behind their own computer screens. Most of its users would also agree that Facebook is a very easy way to stay connected with people, whether or not you ever actually strike up a conversation with them. Viewing their pictures is sometimes enough of an update on what they are up to. But a word to the wise: posting pictures can also incur emotional responses from friends. Evie Bernstein, of Toronto, said that even posting pictures has an agenda. “To make other people jealous of your fun life,” she said, “and for other friends to make you jealous of their lives.” For college students, Facebook is often used for crowdsourcing and publicizing through Facebook groups and events. Facebook events are made for almost any event held on campus, and are seemingly more effective at keeping people aware of these activities than flyers or notices. “Really if I didn't have Facebook I would not know anything that's going on at Brandeis,” said Liat Fischer, of Denver, Colorado. There are also Facebook groups for buying and selling anything from clothes to furniture, to subleases in local apartments. There are also Facebook groups to help connect people to each other; students in the same major, or living in the same neighborhood. Most importantly, Facebook can be used for information gathering. According to Bernstein, Facebook is very helpful for “stalking” people she wants to learn more about. But don't be alarmed: stalking, in the Facebook sense, just means to look someone up on Facebook to learn more about them: someone interviewing you, your friend's brother, your crush. “I would say our generation mostly uses Facebook to see what other people look like, and keep tabs on what people are doing in their lives,” said Jeremy Shechter of East Brunswick, New Jersey. “Less so as a means of communication, just as like an 'Oh I don't know this person, let me stalk them on Facebook.'”
