ON HOLIDAY
By Caitlin Evanson
IV Leader Editor
Column, Feb. 4, 2010
Ah, it’s everywhere. It’s the newest hit in technology, the newest obsession on everyone's mind; facebook, myspace, myYearbook, blogs, and etc. All around us new things are developing to connect with the ones we love, and even the ones we hate.
Everyone has to know what I’m talking about. Even if you don’t necessarily have one of these pages you still know what they are. They’re all around us, slowly closing in on all four walls. We obsess over everything about them. It’s like constantly people are knowing what you’re doing and its completely impossible to stop this war going on both internally and externally with everyone and their computers.
Facebook has gradually become one of the most widely used networking programs to communicate with friends. It has slowly become more popular than all other networks including sites such as myspace and myYearbook. But when does using one of these sites turn from just a normal communicating system to something that is much, much worse?
These sites are completely distracting to most of us and reality going on around us. It can mess with our social lives, work and even homework. With so many of us communicating through these sites, it may be hard to believe that some of the things about the sites really are no good for us. Each site is used for friends and family to communicate but they’re also home to many sexual predators or even people who cannot be trusted. Not only are they being used by them to talk with individuals but some may also be used to manipulate people as well.
Just recently I had a friend discover someone had stolen all of her pictures off of her myspace and made a fake account under the website “myYearbook.” The site referenced that my friend was doing drugs, going to jail, and even had quotes under each of her photos stating her friends names and what they were doing although half of it was not even the truth.
The site was a complete lie and what was worse was how hurt my friend was over it. The fact that someone, who she obviously knew well enough to have added on myspace, would do that to her really affected her. Not to mention that this person acting as her was talking to other people, mostly guys, and pretending to be someone they weren’t.
With these sites being open to so many people, users must be very careful on what kind of information they put out there and should also wonder if they want others to see it as well. The sites can be used for friendly conversation but at the same time some people can get in trouble for having them or certain pictures being posted.
I’ve heard stories of girls getting kicked off cheerleading squads for having pictures of them drinking on their facebooks or guys getting kicked off football teams for the same reason. Some people get rumors spread around about them and what they’re doing all because of pictures or “wall posts” or just anything on their sites.
I’ve even heard a story about a grown man stalking a young 16 year old at her high school because one her page it said what state she lived in, where she went to school and what grade she was in.
All these risks, but our hobbies and even lives are at stake. So be careful what you post out there people.
Make sure it’s something you don’t mind people knowing about you.