Three years after its inception, Facebook.com has fundamentally altered the way in which the current college generation interacts. Where it was once difficult to keep track of past contacts, new technology has created a venue through which people are constantly updated about one another's lives. Relationships can be extended and maintained as one is allowed to view updated contact information of acquaintances. This has profoundly positive social and professional implications for students about to enter the workforce. But these Web sites also present privacy and safety concerns, possibly being used to filter job candidates or risking the safety of young users who release too much information about themselves.
Recognizing that, like economic and cultural globalization, online networking is an inescapable trend, social responsibility is a key consideration that the current generation needs to address. Universities across the country have already been using posted pictures as evidence in student judicial hearings, and many corporations have begun looking up the online profile of prospective interns or job applicants as an additional filter for applicants. Likewise, there have been several cases in which student-athletes have faced sanctions from depictions of misconduct posted on the internet.
Part of the problem is that sites like Facebook are now open to almost anyone, whereas they had previously been restricted to people with college e-mail addresses. While many of the above concerns are understood by adult users, it is doubtful that the increasing number of young teenagers and preteen users are fully cognizant of what is and is not appropriate to post on these sites. In this regard, MySpace.com is taking a positive step by developing software that will allow parents to monitor their childrens' profiles to some degree.
The threat to personal privacy implicit with advanced communication and information technology has been articulated in the social sciences for years. Surveillance of public spaces has increased and information is more readily available. Through Facebook, once personal details of a person's life can be made available to the public without their knowledge, and "unwanted" pictures of a person can be posted online by friends, even at the subject's objection. The advent of online networking is a valuable phenomenon; however its ascent also necessitates that people remain guardians of their privacy, and treat such Web sites as the public forums they are.
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