Question about investing...?

[Onlooker]

People usually invest in individual stocks only after they first have investments in mutual funds, which are a way to diversify so the risk of significant loss is less. Generally, when one invests, they invest for the long term. You have to hold the stock for 2 years in order to pay the 15% tax rate on gain, rather than a regular income tax rate, so if you don't think Facebook will be growing in a couple years, it's probably not a good idea to invest. If you're going to invest, consider a mutual fund first. Once you have a sizable investment in that, then you can risk investment in an individual stock. There will always be companies to invest in.