Chances are you have a Facebook page. Most people who have one check it regularly and use it to keep up with friends. Even some parents are on Facebook these days, as are companies and celebrities. The Clarion, for example, has a Facebook page.
Facebook is the center for social media. Our generation, not to be a part of this extensive and ever-expanding online community is nearly unheard of.
Facebook is an amazing tool not only for keeping in touch with others but also for sharing information and understanding people.
Yet, Facebook is beginning to scare me. I see more and more disturbing news articles about the website that report privacy invasion of those on Facebook.
New features like the “Friendship” pages, which detail all interaction between two friends, raise a personal red flag. Nostalgia aside, this feature seems to give people an extensive historical record of any dealings I’ve had with any of my friends. Friendship pages could act as a one-stop shop for any number of Facebook stalkers out there.
Yet even more frightening than these privacy concerns, which are usually fixed after some mild uproar, are the research studies used performing Facebook.
In last week’s midterm elections, the number of fans on a candidate’s Facebook page accurately predicted the outcome of 70 percent of the races.
On a more personal level, a new study by David McCandless and Lee Byron of InformationIsBeautiful.net revealed the time periods in which most relationship fall apart—using only Facebook status updates.
Perhaps these findings are not as frightening as I make them appear, but conclusive and accurate data like this worry me.
Not only does our Facebook page hold information about each of us individually, but Facebook as a whole seems to hold a wealth of knowledge about the population’s opinions, actions and culture.
To be honest, most of us will continue to use the social networking site and continue to use it often. Maybe, though, we could all keep a tighter hold on what we post and remember not to play all of our cards online.
Facebook is an amazing social networking tool, but that does not mean that we should inherently trust it with blind faith.
