"The Brave New World of MySpace and Facebook"

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Social networking sites provide a great "place" to make contacts and can even lead to lasting friendships. For those making the transition from high school student to college freshman creating a college Myspace page is both a source of pride and a rite of passage. But it is important to remember that these data base sites are not as private as it might seem. Sheldon E. Steinbach and Lynn M. Deavers, lawyers in a higher education practice, launch a timely warning to students - and colleges - about the legal implications and dangers of posting too much information on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook:</p>

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College students are flocking to social networking sites on the Internet in stunning numbers, often unaware of the potential dangers that can arise there. These dangers primarily arise from posting personal information online that can be viewed by criminals, potential employers, and school administrators, which can result in identity theft, loss of job opportunities, and violations of school rules. Campus administrators should inform their students about the potential dangers of using social networking Web sites...</p>

<p>Although many students believe the personal information they share on social networking sites is not viewed by others, that information can provide criminals with enough detail to identify the student. In doing so, a student who posts personal details online can give criminals enough information to commit crimes such as stalking or identity theft. Because of the high risk of such crimes when personal information is posted on social networking Web sites, colleges should advise their students not to share private information online, such as names, addresses, email addresses, birth dates and phone numbers.</p>

<p>Information that students may think is personal could be viewed by potential employers if posted on social networking sites. As a result, colleges and universities should warn their students not to post inappropriate messages or photographs that could negatively influence an employer?s perception. Many employers are aware of social networking Web sites, and some use these sites to check for negative attributes of an applicant.

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<p><a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/04/03/steinbach%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/04/03/steinbach&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Students are told this repeatedly. I think you should advise your kids to put up strict "entry" barriers on their sites so others can't post nonsense on them randomly. Minimizing risks.<br>
I think it starts earlier. My son just went through a long evaluative competition for a student role on campus. Some of the judges were students, some administrators. I would be willing to bet that student judges took a look at Facebook while mulling over the candidates. </p>

<p>I really have no idea how to get this across to 18 year olds. But they are looking for jobs in no time flat after getting to college and Facebook is a part of the culture. Adults also peruse it, not just 20 somethings.</p>

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<p>I have made my facebook private. As long as you do that employers really can't check anything. Take this step midway through Sophmore year and you're golden.</p>

4

<p>On a slightly different note, my brother regularly uses MySpace messages, comments, and photos when preparing cases for court.</p>

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<p>Random people can't look at one's Facebook unless they are in that person's network, meaning they go to or work at the same school and have a .edu e-mail address to prove it.</p>

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<p>The OP article does send the clear message that despite social networking safeguards - and that includes limiting personal network access to those who have an .edu e-address - information posted on Facebook is not as private as many believe it to be:</p>

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[quote]
Although many students believe the personal information they share on social networking sites is not viewed by others, that information can provide criminals with enough detail to identify the student. In doing so, a student who posts personal details online can give criminals enough information to commit crimes such as stalking or identity theft. Because of the high risk of such crimes when personal information is posted on social networking Web sites, colleges should advise their students not to share private information online, such as names, addresses, email addresses, birthdates and phone numbers...</p>

<p>In addition, the specificity and clarity of a school’s statements informing students of the school’s monitoring policy should be considered. If the school’s policy statement is ambiguous or its scope is unclear, students may be less likely to rely upon schools to prevent illegal acts resulting from online activity. Statements that clearly state the school’s policy of monitoring, including its scope and application to specific online activities, such as social networking Web sites, are more likely to create a duty of care for the school.</p>

<p>Colleges and universities must inform students about the particular dangers they face online. But if schools actively monitor their students’ online activities and students are aware of this policy, they may have a duty of care that includes preventing any illegal acts committed as a result of information posted online...

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7

<p>Just click everything to private if you are worried about this type of thing or employers and items of this nature. Total common sense.</p>

8

<p>Obviously, yes and also as obvious do a google of yourself to see what might pop up and bite back. Yet as helpful as these alternatives are, it does not address one of the main points of the OP article - the fact that many colleges and universities are monitoring these networking sites. Obviously again, there is the not unheard of possibility that ingenious, unscrupulous folks out there might have .edu addresses and get access to digital dirt.</p>

9

<p>On the plus side of college social networking, and the freshman experience -</p>

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College freshmen once faced their first year alone, with limited knowledge of the people and places in their new communities. But thanks to Facebook .com, MySpace.com and other Web-based social networking sites, students are gaining a place on campus early and creating a radically different first-year experience for themselves.</p>

<p>"Students graduating from high school have social networks they've been building for 12 or 13 years, and it goes to virtually nil when they go to college," said Scott Silverman, coordinator of first-year programs at the University of California, Riverside. "Facebook and MySpace help these students fill a gap."</p>

<p>Meeting face to Facebook</p>

<p>Soon after acceptance letters appeared in their mailboxes, members of the University of Delaware's class of 2011 began searching Facebook for a way to connect. The site has at least five groups dedicated to incoming UD freshmen -- who are expected to number about 3,500 -- including one for people on the waitlist.</p>

<p>More than 700 people to date have joined UD '11, the Facebook group created by Radley Miller, a senior at Charter School of Wilmington. Students discuss majors and hometowns; make plans to attend the same orientation session or to meet in New York City. A fan of Dave Matthews Band is looking for a future concert partner.</p>

<p>As Rosalynne Sommer narrows her college choice, the 17-year-old has been monitoring Facebook groups for each school on her list, including UD.</p>

<p>"I like what I'm seeing more from Delaware. The students seem more well-rounded, more similar to me," said Rosalynne, who lives in Baltimore. "There's a discussion board about who's going to join Hillel [an organization for Jewish students]. When I first saw that, I knew they had a big Hillel and an active Hillel, and it made me feel warm and that I could feel comfortable there because Judaism is a big part of my life."...</p>

<p>Safety concerns are the reason East Carolina started sending students in its first-year experience program to Facebook training. It's also why Silverman, the UC Riverside coordinator, said students who want to make connections online need to strike a balance between cautious and candid with the people they meet.</p>

<p>"They need to be who they are as much as they can because whatever impression they give could very well stick with them for the next four years and beyond," said Silverman, who is working on a doctoral dissertation on the effects online social networks have on the college experience.</p>

<p>Although she has Facebook to thank for her roommate and other new contacts, Emilie looks forward to getting to know her future classmates a little better when she meets them face-to-face at orientation this summer.</p>

<p>And she said it was a campus visit that sealed her decision to attend the small Dover college.</p>

<p>"Coming from a little town, I really wanted to go to a big, huge school," she said. "But I went to Wesley, talked to some of the professors and some of the people that go there, and I loved it."

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<p><a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070404/NEWS/704040365/1006/NEWS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070404/NEWS/704040365/1006/NEWS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>