Black is not a color, strictly speaking. It is the

absence of all color. When people speak of opposites,

it is usually in terms of black and white. Black, and its

opposite white, represent polarities. Black absorbs

all aspects of light. While white reveals,

black conceals. It has come to mean hidden,

fearful or bad experience. It is linked to

the unknown or the unseen.

In times of fear and uncertainty black contains

the energy of the threatening unknown. In a

positive state, black is seen as a restful emptiness

into which anything may emerge and disappear

once again. It is also mysterious, providing a

sense of potential and possibility.

Put some black in your life when you want:

to become inconspicuous
to open the door to mystery
to prepare for the unknown
a restful emptiness

The Disadvantages of Facebook

Social networks have many advantages including meeting new people and finding old friends.

However, is this new and upcoming social network, Facebook, too friendly and too addicting?

Are these technologically advanced forms of communicating slowly hurting society's social skills?

The obvious disadvantage of Facebook is the availability of your personal profile on the
Internet for many people to see. For example, in Sarah Schweitzer’s article “Universities
Ponder Facebook Etiquette”, astudent explains how word of what was on her Facebook
profile reached her Grandmother who did not appreciate the content very much.
Of course, you have complete control over what the content of your profile is.
However, many people do not think about the type of information they make
available and many times people will put too much information, leaving them
quite vulnerable. In addition, to the control that you have over your content,
the website is completely restricted to college students, which adds much needed
security so that not every “Joe Somebody” can have access to everyone’s
information.The more important disadvantage of Facebook is the effect it
has on the people that use it, especially the frequent users.
In “The Death of Interaction”, Conor Boyland, a sophomore at
UC Santa Barbara, explains both the best feature and the biggest drawback
of Facebook; “online directories like Facebook make impossible to find out quite
a lot about a person without ever speaking to them”. This feature that Facebook
provides lets people avoid the essential part of getting to know someone, talking
to them. Because of this, and that fact that almost all users spend way too much
time on the Facebook or just the computer in general
, is why Facebook greatly affecting the frequent users social skills.
Social skills are very important in the world we live in. Being able to hold conversations
and relate to other people helps people not only in their business lives but also in their
daily lives. With the creation of, first,instant messenger and now Facebook, the
young generation is beginning to become more dependent on these technologically
based ways of communicating. Yes, Facebook makes it easier to meet people,
which as everyone knows, is the most difficult part of starting a relationship,
but these people using Facebook are becoming addicted and dependent upon this
social network. These addicts are using Facebook as another excuse, upon the many,
as a reason why they are constantly hunched over their computers.
If these people continue to constantly use these social networks as their primary means of
communicating, their social skills will slowly diminish and their daily lives will be drastically altered.

1. Facebook leads 'children to suicide'

Archbishop Vincent Nichols from the Catholic Church in England and Wales, claimed that Facebook reduced friendship to just a "commodity". Because of the "transient nature" of it, teenagers become more prone to suicide when their networks collapse.

2. Facebook 'killing off traditional sayings'

The site has been blamed for the slow death of British sayings such as "a little birdie told me" and "hold your horses". In a survey on communication trend researchers found phrases commonly used by parents and grandparents were disappearing.

3. Facebook blamed for 'rickets surge'

Facebook has been linked to the rise in the number of children suffering from rickets. Researchers wrote in the British Medical Journal that the social networking site, and computer games had led to the disease, caused by chronic vitamin D deficiencies. It occurs because of sitting for long periods out of natural sunlight and a poor diet.

4. Facebook 'turning Britons into introverts'

A study from Mintel, the market research company, found more than half of adults who use sites such as Facebook admitted they spent more time chatting online than they did actually speaking to friends and family.

5. Facebook 'makes partners jealous'

University of Guelph researchers found Facebook use led to increased jealousy in relationships, amid greater social exchanges with friends and previous partners. Lovers often get suspicious when their partners get hooked to the site.

6. More middle-aged people 'learning to love' Facebook

Ofcom, the communications regulator, found more middle-aged people are logging on to social networking sites such as Facebook in ever larger numbers. The number of 35 to 54-year-olds, using social networking sites, have increased by 25 per cent in just one year.

7. Facebook makes users 'feel unattractive'

Some Facebook users avoid uploading photos because they think they are too fat, old or ugly. A survey found almost one in two people admitted to leaving out pictures from their "fat days" when uploading pictures to their online profile.