Facebook: More Danger than Fun?

Facebook: More Danger than Fun?
Rough Draft

By: Hannah Hoffman

Facebook has taken over. It is a force to be reckoned with. Don’t mess with Facebook.

Facebook is defined simply as a global social networking site. But if you want to be completely truthful, “obsessive, life consuming, stalking central, can’t keep my self-away from it… computer program” is probably more accurate.

Created in 2006, the site was originally catered towards students with the purpose of sharing pictures and stories with one another. Many used Facebook to keep in contact with long-distance friends and family members.
But now, four years old, Facebook has become a love-hate relationship to many consumed in its trap. It can satisfy you one moment, but crush you the next. College freshman Sam Rudesill says that “Facebook is like a drug. You have to check it everyday, at least, and you find out some things that you rather wouldn’t know about.”

More recently, Facebook has been used by people of all ages. “My grandma even has a Facebook,” says sophomore Katie Minter. Facebook statistics state that there are over 400 million users and at least 50% of those users log on each day, spending 55 minutes on the site.

Facebook not only serves as a major distraction for high school and college students with the constant status updates, online quizzes, and infamous “Farmville,” but it can be used as a way to get political and community involvement, event publicity, and even job opportunities. There is, however, another side to the site. Facebook can be used as a dangerous tool to monitor the activity of other people who have an account.

Many throw around the term “Facebook stalking,” often used as a joke, where a girl or boy will look up someone’s pictures or information online simply out of social interest. Facebook even acknowledges the activity of “stalking” where they have an application entitled “Who stalks your profile?” that is supposed to produce names on who checks your profile. Even though the application has a satirical sense, its existence shows that there is continuing interest in the matter.

“I think it’s silly. Everyone really does it to look at people’s pictures. I just think that when people start rumors because of them, it has gone too far,” says Wittenberg student Anna Wyckstandt.

What many don’t realize is that this act of “Facebook stalking” can be taken even further and real stalking and identity theft can occur.

It is common for people to post statuses on their whereabouts. The website “pleaserobme.com” says the site’s purpose is “to offer their website to a professional foundation, agency or company that focuses on raising awareness, helping people understand and provide answers to online privacy related issues” and it is not to promote burglary. The site detects statuses that indicate the account holder is not home and then posts them on the “pleaserobme” site. It is meant to show how easy it is to find out who is home and who is not which could ultimately lead to a theft or burglary.

The dangers in Facebook are often overlooked and people are focused on the fun, friendly connections made and not the risk involved. Bryan Rutberg was a case in Seattle, Wash where his Facebook account was broken into. The hacker even persuaded his friends to wire money to a separate account. Rutberg is just one of many that have experienced problems with hacking. Not all result in faulty requests for money donations, but many try and spread viruses to the users’ other Facebook friends.

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