Facebook: Your Privacy, Your Consequences

Anna Schiele

COM-130

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According to CNN, in 2010, Facebook gained it’s 500 millionth user.

Double the amount of users in July of 2009, and one hundred times that of the 5 million users that the site saw in 2002.

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When Facebook first began, it was created ONLY for college students, with the intention of being a site for finding “cute guys and girls”.

If a user did not have a .edu email address, they could not join Facebook.

Photo by Anna Schiele

When Facebook went “public” a few years ago, they added a clause in their Terms and Agreements requiring that users be at least 13 years of age…

…however, like many websites, there is no way of knowing the actual age of a user.

As more and more concerns over young users rise, more sites are popping up that aim at younger children.

Yoursphere is the newest not-for-profit site that is aimed at children. And other sites include Myspace and Tagged.

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PRIVACY CONTROLS:

Facebook has changed its privacy controls many times in the past few years.

The change that occurred in May of 2010 brought about simplified controls.

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The changes in 2010 also included more detailed privacy options to run alongside of them.

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Not only can a main profile’s privacy be controlled, but users can also limit what groups of friends is allowed to see posts and updates.

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It’s possible to:

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Having privacy controls not only

protects you from social

embarrassment and screwing up

the chance of snagging that

big job opportunity, but it allows you to keep different

areas of your life at different arms

lengths.

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Recent Check-ins

Spellman CenterAnna Schiele was here 17 minutes ago.

So what’s the newest thing on Facebook?

Places.

Facebook now allows users to “check-in” using the site or a mobile device in order to let other users pinpoint their exact location.

It also allows them to tag various other users in their posts who may be in the location as well.

In the past, many have been worried about the privacy of having their phone number and address on the internet, but now it’s possible to see where they are at an exact point in time.

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Having Facebook is a great way to stay connected and keep in touch with friends and family, pass the time, and keep updated

with social topics.

However, individuals who choose to use Facebook should use caution with what they allow others to see.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/26/wolf.polonetsky.obama.oil/index.html Slide 1, 2 and 3

http://lorrie.cranor.org/courses/fa05/tubzhlp.pdf Slide 4

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10705923 Slide 5, 7 and 8

For information found solely on the slides…