Facebook has been a phenomena among young and old alike for some time now. It's popularity can even be seen as the movie, The Social Network, has come out as number 1 in the box office since its release on October 1. People enjoy being able to share their experiences with their friends and family, although they may be thousands of miles away. They not only share pictures and ideas, but also show people their likes, dislikes, and even their relationship status. This may all seem harmless and fun, however, like most technology, it can be ill used.
People need to be aware that what they are posting on their walls can be displayed all over the Internet, which has no borders. Recently, Facebook has been having to deal with privacy issues, especially when they gave users more privacy options and made the default option public. All users had to go to their privacy settings and change them from public to private, or whatever else they chose. If they had not realized this earlier and placed something on their wall that they wanted to be private, it was too late now. With new applications, like Facebook Connect and Open Graph, people are able to learn more about others. For example, as long as Facebook can get you to share more information to more people, it can give a whole lot more data to advertisers.
Nonetheless, this is only one aspect of how sharing on Facebook can invade people's privacy. Using the applications that Facebook provides is done with consent. The users know they are putting personal information that their friends, bosses, co-workers, etc. can see. They are setting themselves up to potential problems coming from too much sharing. On the other hand, people's information might be put up on the Internet without their knowing, and therefore without their consent. This is unjust to these people; they might not want to have certain pictures, videos, or other kind of information displayed to hundreds of other people they have never met before. As was the case with Tyler Clementi at Rutgers University, he was spied on and was unknowingly broadcasted on a live feed on Facebook. Due to the contents that were broadcasted, the young man decided there was no other way but to take his own life and jump off a bridge. The two students who used the web cam in Tyler Clementi's room to transmit his doings in his own dorm room obviously did not realize what the consequence to their actions would be. They rashly placed this video on the web without thinking about how Clementi would react or feel about it. People have begun to lose their empathy and human connection with others. Used with the wrong intentions, technology can devastate anything it is used against. Facebook and Time Magazine
I do agree that facebook has ruined the idea of privacy. It is much easier now to show the world someone else's skeletons in the closet. However, people have always been in the spotlight and under serious watch. Politicians and celebrities have been battling clean reputations for ages. The only difference now is everyone must adhere to the same code.
ReplyDeleteSo where is the line drawn? Clearly what happened to the Rudgers student is an extreme to the scale. Not everyone in the world is broadcasting such destructive content. If you don't want people to see you doing a beer bong you shouldn't let your friends take the picture. The case with the Rudgers student was a release of unknown recordings. A complete invasion of privacy before it even hit the internet. It is a seperate offense.
People should learn to be more careful about the lives they live. If you plan to have a certain life you should act accordingly. Not just what people can see. Facebook has forced people to live by their decisions. Not exactly the worst thing that has ever happened.