Facebook Faux Pas: Protecting ourselves online
What’s okay on Facebook and what’s not? As one Florida college sophomore found out, complaining on Facebook about a teacher can get you suspended from school (this occurred when she was in high school). The student has now won the right to sue to cover her legal costs and try to expunge the suspension from her record.
When I started college, Facebook was still relatively new and users had to have a university e-mail address to even open an account. Now anyone can open an account and Facebook currently reports that it has over 400 million users worldwide. Facebook is one of those amazing feats of technology that does great things—but also opens up the possibility for situations like the one in Florida. So what are we to do? Based on experiences that my friends, classmates and I have had, here are some key things to keep in mind when it comes to Facebook in college (or anytime, for that matter):
No matter how great that party was, make sure that any Facebook photo documentation remains PG.
I used the “untag” option liberally when it came to photos involving alcohol, even if it was a totally innocent bottle of beer—especially before I turned 21. I also learned not to be afraid to ask a friend to delete a photo altogether if I wasn’t comfortable with it. Photos on Facebook have a way of turning up elsewhere (for example, many yearbook staffs are turning to Facebook for extra photos) so I truly believe that there is no such thing as a silly or overly cautious photo de-tag or removal.
Upset with a professor/classmate/club/internship/life? Write a journal entry, not a status update.
I am amazed at how much people feel comfortable sharing with the world via status updates. A classmate of mine was actually known for her emotional, stressed-out status updates that sometimes identified groups of people as the cause of her problems (i.e. Department X, lab partners, etc) and still didn’t get the message even after this led to actual confrontations with some annoyed students in real life. If you wouldn’t say it in person, please don’t say it on Facebook! Yes, the probability of an outpouring of online support in regard to a crummy grade or difficult classmate is tempting, but it’s not worth getting into the mess that Katharine Evans got into in Florida when her venting actually got back to the school. Going public with private thoughts and opinions is a game-changer and it’s really, really not worth the instant gratification of posting these sentiments online.
Explore the various privacy and security settings.
These settings span a much wider range of options than I first realized, so it’s worth checking out. For one thing, networks vary dramatically in size, which may determine whether or not you really want everyone in a given network to see your profile or just those on your friend list. Beyond that, I set my account so that only a handful of friends can see photos tagged of me (which helps solve the first issue I discussed) and not everyone can access my contact information.
That’s how I face the Facebook issue (couldn’t resist)—what suggestions do you have for smart and sound Facebook use? Should Katharine Evans have been suspended? Why or why not? And while we’re on the topic, follow BetterGrads on Facebook!
