Facebook, the newest technological
masterpiece to
grace the world with its presence
is ubiquitous across not
only our nation, but the
world. It is a public way to
communicate with friends
from other schools by leaving
a comment on their personal
web-page.
While at work and home,
Chris Pennington goes on his
computer and accesses different
websites, including
Facebook.
“At nights … I would say
the first thing I really do is go
on the computer and check
my sites. I think everyone has
a series of sites they check for
updates on,” said
Pennington, 20, architecture
major from Holland.
Over the past couple years,
kids, adults, teenagers,
bands, movies and fan sites
have become a new online
breed. The days of email are
becoming obsolete as time
goes on, however a new phenomenon
in communication
has emerged, online social
networking.
Originally called The
Facebook, former Harvard
student Mark Zuckerburg
founded it as a hobby back on
Feb. 4, 2004. He kept it up
during his time at school, as
an easier way for Harvard
students to communicate,
word of its existence soon
spread to other colleges. The
website soon became accessible
to anyone who is part of
more than 30,000 colleges and
other organizations. The website
now has more than 69
million active users.
Students seem to have an
obsession with this trend in
public conversation. The
website also lets you upload
pictures of yourself to your
page, making it accessible to
everyone to see what you
look like.
Locations ranging from
work, to home, to school or
even their cell phones. In
fact, a number of students
confessed to checking their
account from school computers.
Alyese Reilly, a 20-year-old
elementary education major
from Langhorne said jokingly,
“Isn’t that the only reason
for the library?” Although
joking at the time, there was a
certain amount of seriousness
to the statement.
She is not alone; many students
use the library more for
personal activities than
research. Walking around the
upper level of the library at
Bucks for only a short
amount a time, numerous
computers were plastered
with the unmistakable deep
blue top of a Facebook page.
There are so many various
reasons to check your
Facebook, called notifications;
these checkable items
on your account push students
toward addiction.
There are many applications
available to add to your
page making it more interesting
when others are looking
at it. “I am completely
addicted to the Lord of the
Ring’s Application on
there, I go on it each time I
sign on,” said Melissa
Jerome, a visual arts major
from Newtown.
There are also private
messages which are personal
e-mails to accounts,
new comments on the page
itself or comments on photos
uploaded onto your
account.
The mere sight of a new
notification alert is enough
for anyone to sign onto
their account. However,
new features have emerged
turning this communication
standard into a form of
stalking.
The new term for stalking
called “lurking” is unfortunately
more common than
most people would think.
Lurking is a polite way to
say that you were staring at
another person’s photos
behind their back or looking
at the people they talk to and
what they said to each other,
without them knowing.
Even though Facebook,
Myspace and other websites
like it are extremely popular
among teenagers and young
adults, some students don’t
bother with the latest crazes
in internet communication.
Phil Coles, 25, journalism
major from Quakertown has
both a Myspace and Facebook
account, however he never
uses them. “I only started a
Facebook account so I could
watch what my girlfriend
was doing.”
This has been a social
downfall for some, who
might have said the wrong
thing in the public eye, and
got caught for it.
“I really use Facebook to
talk to my friends, but I also
lurk people” said 20-year-old
Shannon Ladden, a liberal
arts major from Richboro. “I
get lost with time when I
search from person to person.”
Many students also admitted
to looking at people’s pictures
that they might be
friends with on Facebook but
have not talked to in years.
“When I sign on, I look at
the pictures of all the people I
graduated with that got
knocked up, but I don’t really
lurk unless something catches
my eye,” said Reilly.
Whether or not it is healthy
for this website to be so popular
is under discussion;
however, many universities
nationwide are offering internet
support groups for those
who have become addicted.
Among the topics to discuss,
MySpace and Facebook
are the top two among the
list; these sites have become a
staple of American life.
People sign on constantly to
check for updates, notifications
or new friend requests.
Facebook seems to be here
to stay, whether or not it’s
good is currently under
debate, but a lot of people
sure like it.