Say What!- Facebook is the root of all evil

While the picture above may be a humorous play on the title of this blog, the story I will be discussing herein most certainly is not.  You can find the original story here.

There are so many questions that race through my mind after reading a story like this.  Is Facebook to blame for this incident in some way?  Are these people violent by nature, were they violent before this incident?  What causes a person to decide to murder someone over something as unimportant as this?

What troubles me most is just how little it took for Marvin Potter Jr. and Jamie Lynn Curd to commit an act as heinous as this. It is disgusting that they killed this young couple in front of their 8 month old child and then left the child there in their dead mother's arms.  It is one of the ugliest things I have read about in quite a long time. 

But this also begs the question: Have we allowed Facebook to become an obsession?   Have some made it their whole lives?  The woman who was defriended in this story had to have been so devastated that it prompted her father to take the actions he did.  But why did it effect her so?  How can a social network site have that much power over those who use it? 

I have seen personally how things can go wrong on Facebook.  I have seen friendship strained, marriages ruined, families fighting, and careers ended over things written on Facebook profiles and timelines.  I just can't believe, even now, how this site can cause so much damage.  Personally, I have a facebook page (who doesn't) but I very much limit my time on there and I write rather general updates to my page.  I have learned, through personal experience, to try and limit the topics I post on to those that will not cause arguments or anger.  In short, I am in and out quick. 

Facebook can be used for good, such as to post pictures of a new baby for family and friends, or allow friends and family who are far away the chance to communicate.  But it can also cause people's most violent and unrestrained side to come out.  As in the case of this incident, actions taken on Facebook caused normal people to commit horrible, unfathomable crimes against a perfectly innocent couple. 

Stories like this make me lose faith in humanity.  I understand the nature of evil.  But this, I will never understand.

Sad, sad story. 

What do you think about the story and is Facebook to blame at all for this incident?  Do you think there will be more incidents like this one in the future?