Facebook: A Virtual Resume
When I first came to college, Facebook was just beginning to build in popularity. Initially I made a profile to see what my new roommates would be like before I moved in, but it has taken on so much more functions since. Shortly after, I made a Myspace, but I prefer Facebook. I feel that Facebook can be a great tool, if used properly. I don't agree that anyone should have to erase their Facebook, but people definitely should censor themselves. I know that I behave differently depending on the situation (whether I'm in church or with my family versus hanging out with friends) I look at the internet as another situation in which I censor what I post. Even if a picture or comment means one thing to me and my friends, when someone else reads it, they can take it a completely different way and it may offend them. People may chose to dislike you based on what is essentially a miscommunication that you are unaware of. Being in a sorority, being an RA and also on student government, I definitely monitor what pictures are tagged of me and what people write on my wall. Another thing that I try to do now is be careful about which events I RSVP to on Facebook. I never though this was an issue until I heard about a guy who had stalked a girl and would show up at parties she went to because he saw it all on Facebook! Scary! So my advice to incoming freshman or new college graduates is to be careful about every single piece of information that you put out there. I am not trying to say that Facebook is a bad thing, I love mine. I use it in the Greek community, in the clubs I am in, to keep in touch with friends from high school etc. I feel that Facebook is essentially my virtual resume. I make sure my pictures are always good reflections of my life and since I represent many jobs and organizations, I am always aware at how my Facebook reflects on them too.Labels: damage control, facebook, social networking; virtual resume
Posted by Suzanne on 10/08/2008 01:43:00 AM
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2 Comments:
I've heard about people being stalked through Facebook too! I took a self defense class a couple of years ago and the instructors stressed to us on more than one occasion that our profiles needed to be changed. They went through our class roster and found each of us on Facebook and then told us how much information they were able to find out just by looking at our profiles. Mine, for example, was not private at the time and it listed my phone number, address, class schedule and plans for the weekend. I'm so glad I had that eye-opening example to motivate me to change some things around on my profile. I hope nobody has to find out the hard way just how much information they put out for the public to see.
I cannot believe that someone you know was actually stalked on facebook. I've heard the horror stories time and time again by countless family members, but I never once believed it could actually happen. I guess I always thought it wouldn't happen to me or anyone like me, for that matter. It would be just as easy to stalk me as it was for that man to stalk your friend. That's completely scary!