Throughout high school, my parents always warned me about the dangers associated with social networking sites. I still had a MySpace early in high school, and I created a Facebook my junior year, but I never spent much time on them. In fact, I spent much more time playing video games than on these sites. Now, I only use Facebook, and I deleted my MySpace account shortly after creating a Facebook because almost none of my friends were using it anymore. Now, I check my Facebook daily, and occasionally post something rather than just glance at my feed for a few seconds. But this never amounts to more than a few minutes. I use Facebook relatively little compared to texting or calling people, which usually amounts to 1-3 hours per day.
I feel that the cultural move towards social networking and constant access is not a negative trend. Networking is a very convenient way for groups of people to communicate and to keep in touch with a wide range of people from around the world. I might not call or email and old friends, but I would certainly post something on their wall. However, I feel that the loss of privacy that can sometimes be associated with these activities is a negative trend. I do not like that Facebook has an option to show the world exactly where you are, or for potential employers to look at pictures of what you did last weekend. This entanglement of our personal lives and technology can allow us to be more connected but we have to watch out for who’s reading what we’re doing. I am very careful about this. I have never posted or texted anything that I regretted because I always think about who my audience is before I publish something. This is the major reason as to why I mostly look at my feed on Facebook rather than post something. I do worry about my privacy when it comes to these new technologies, and that is why I always manage my privacy settings and give good passwords to all my accounts. I feel that social networks can have huge advantages as long as people are careful and truly understand what they are doing when they use them.
I completely agree with you on the subject of Facebook. I too am very careful about what I post and my profile is very private and has very little information. For me, it's hard to believe that once something goes online, it never goes away, and that makes me even more cautious. One thing that about Facebook that worries me sometimes is mostly what other people post to me or about me. Yes, I can control what I share, but I cannot do that to everyone else.
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