Internet Personality vs. Real World Moves...

Dabney_Soulman

there is no seperation any more.http://student.vwc.edu/~chronicle/3_10_06/news/myspace.phpMySpace is not just "my" spaceBy Laura Dudley and Emerald VadellaFace it: college students with ???Facebook??? or ???MySpace??? accounts know the lingo. ???You???ve been poked.??????You have a new friend request.??????Someone has written on your wall.???All these terms have become a part of the common vocabulary among students in colleges and universities across the country. Still, many students are unaware of the consequences and dangers in such networks.???For MySpace and for Facebook there are some serious stalking concerns and privacy issues,??? said Katie Herschede, a graduate student at the University of South Carolina who educates students about Facebook. ???Anytime you put personal information about yourself on the Internet, it can be used both for good and for bad. Many campuses have seen an increase in stalking, particularly online stalking and online harassment. Certainly privacy issues and identity theft are hot topics on college campuses and really in society at large.???According to its home site, ???Facebook is an online directory that connects people through social networks at school.??? Created by two Harvard students in 2004, Facebook???s popularity has exploded on college campuses.Facebook allows users to create an online profile with pictures and personal information. This includes photo albums, a list of friends and a schedule of classes. Students can send messages, write on walls and leave comments on pictures.MySpace is a similar online networking site but is available to everyone. It is directed towards singles, coworkers, classmates and anyone with a valid e-mail address who is at least 14 years old. MySpace offers additional features such as posting music, videos and bands.VWC joined Facebook in September 2005. A group of students, including members of SGA, petitioned Facebook for membership.???You don???t have to get official approval,??? said sophomore Nathaniel Swann. ???You just have to get enough students that want it. It???s not through computer services. It???s not through the administration. It???s basically Facebook and students.??? Senior Tara Arthur was one of the students who petitioned Facebook for membership.???I have a lot of friends at a lot of other universities all across the U.S., and they were all talking about Facebook,??? said Arthur. ???It took about six months to get it started and it took a lot of people to request it.???Now that many VWC students have joined Facebook and are members of MySpace, some are posting pictures of underage drinking and other illegal activities.???The thing that students need to know is that anything they post on Facebook could be fair game for campus administrators, faculty, staff, employers and other students,??? said Herschede.Herschede knows of several employers using online networking sites to learn more about potential employees.???Some employers are using Facebook and other online technologies to get additional information about candidates,??? said Herschede. ???Be aware that a potential employer could have access to your photos, wall, groups, quotes and to other information that you put out there. This is very similar to a background check or a reference check.???[/b]The policy of VWC Career Services is to not give out personal information about students.???Wesleyan Career Services has had no contact with employers who are requesting information through network programs,??? said Deborah Hicks, associate dean of the college for Career Services.Though difficult to document instances of employers using such networks, recent cases surrounding colleges using Facebook and MySpace are being covered by the media.Recently, The Virginian-Pilot published a story about potential employers checking MySpace profiles to do background checks on job applicants.According to Herschede, campus, county and state police have used Facebook to learn about activity within the community. Administrators are also using to discipline students for policy violations.At Penn Sate University, campus police found more than 50 students who rushed the football field at the end of the game through Facebook. The police found tagged photos of the group, ???I Rushed the Field After the OSU Game (And Lived!),??? and were able to identify the students.???We as an institution have not policed or addressed Facebook or the concerns and issues that surround it,??? said Keith Moore, director of residence life.According to Moore, other institutions have limited students??? access to Facebook.???People who choose to use that or similar sites should be very cautious about the information they post,??? said Moore.Aside from the negative aspects of Facebook and MySpace, there are also positive qualities. Organizations have posted events on Facebook, bands have displayed their music on MySpace and on both it is possible to find friends from the past. Wesleyan Activities council posted event announcements on Facebook.???It???s great to be able to connect with each other to learn more about student organizations and to really learn more about the university,??? said Herschede. ???I certainly don???t think that Facebook is all bad. I think you need to be smart and savvy about it.???