Our Facebook Fixation

According to Alexa Internet, Facebook.com was the 8th most visited site on the Internet today in the United States, shutting out other extremely popular sites such as amazon.com, aol.com, and cnn.com. Globally, it was the 34th most visited website.

The craze that is Facebook is sweeping the US and other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom with unbelievable success (alexa.com). Created by Mark Zuckerberg as a network designed to connect college students, the site has skyrocketed in popularity among the general population in the time that has passed since its birth in 2004. One of Facebook’s biggest selling points is the privacy controls that it offers users. Users are able to control who can see their profile information, pictures, contact information, and friends list.

While I cannot deny the sheer genius behind the site, I also cannot over-emphasize the importance of users being prudent when determining what information they share on the site. Why? For several reasons, many of them different from the usual ones you hear when discussing sites such as Myspace.com.

First of all, evidence obtained from a user’s profile can be used in criminal investigations. As reported by Eric Roper of the GW Hatchet, George Washington University’s student newspaper, the UPD (University Police Department) at GWU routinely uses the site for law enforcement. In his eye-opening article he describes an interview with University Police Chief Dolores Stafford. Among other information, she revealed that “Facebook is one of many resources UPD uses to assist in the investigation of a reported incident/crime. (…) While the department does not use the site to initiate investigations, evidence from the site could be sufficient to charge a student with a crime.”

Second, In the National Association of Colleges and Employers 'Job Outlook 2007 survey, it was discovered that more than one in 10 employers check out the profiles of potential employees on sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com before making a hire. Pretty scary, huh?

Although Facebook is the online leader in privacy controls in social networking sites, some of its privacy control options are a bit misleading, as evidenced by the two aforementioned points. Although they do prevent most people from seeing what you don’t want them to see, this is not always true with regard to law enforcement officials and potential employers.

So the next time you consider uploading the picture of that incredible keg stand from last weekend, consider the broader implications of your actions. Because no one really knows who will be looking at your profile.