Lets Face It

Facebook.  It’s not a gadget per se, but it deserves discussion .  There are so many assumptions and conflicts surrounding social networks now that sometimes the real reason and use of the things just disappear.

First, of all the social networks  (popular ones including: Myspace, Twitter, Friendster, and Friendfeed) I’m a Facebook user.  So, this post is going to focus on the Facebook specifics, though many of the main points apply to all social networks in general.

Lets be clear, Facebook started as a web site meant to link college students, and then moved to allow high school students, and finally to the world in general.  So, in the beginning, Facebook had everything right.  Not to be self centered, but who needs a simple way to stay connected more than college age students?  Who could learn to use Facebook faster than teenagers?  Far from home with friends spread across the world Facebook provided a simple way to say “hey” and post a picture or two.  It was of course main stream media and the elders who made things “unsafe” on the internet.

From focused advertisement, to identity theft, and job applications, all the warnings that are thrown out today about the dangers of having your information online have nothing to do with staying in contact with friends or sending online invites to study sessions.  Sure, kids have to be smart, adjust privacy settings (which is both possible and simple) so that the jerk giving you a hard time at school can’t stalk your pictures and post inappropriate comments, but that’s common sense (I’d hope).  The serious problem is really misunderstanding then coupled with misuse.

If social networks were just that, a digital connection for social interaction, perhaps controversy would be limited.  But, like email and the evolution of spam, problems will always surround internet communication.  All we can do now is take a step back, and maybe give kids a little slack in some areas.  Sometimes a red plastic cup in a profile picture is nothing more than a red plastic cup.