Facebook Essay

Facebook is a social network created in 2004 and has over 21 million registered members. It is the newer version of MySpace and has taken over cyberspace. Facebook allows you to stay connected with friends, classmates and old friends. It was originally created for college students, but people of all ages all over the world have now become part of the social network. There are many activities you can do when you join virtual groups based on common interests, see what classes they have in common, and learn each others’ hobbies, interests, musical tastes, and romantic relationship status through the profiles. If used properly there can be many advantages of Facebook in the life of a college student. Some colleges set up facebook groups for future classes of students to meet online. The University of Chicago had several groups of students getting ready to graduate high school already beginning online friendships with possible future classmates. They all talked about and shared their goals, what classes they planned to take and shared in the anticipation of receiving their acceptance letters. Students across the country are connecting with future classmates as well. Some students in New York arranged to meet there facebook group friends in person. These new facebook friends will probably rarely see each other on campus. These facebook forced friendships do not last for long, but it makes the students feel more comfortable about their first day of College. If you are a college student like me, chances are you probably have a Facebook. You probably log on more than once a day and you probably spend at least an hour on it per day. You sit down to write a paper or study for a test and somehow you end up on Facebook. Before you know it an hour has passed and you haven’t gotten anything done. This is the case for majority of college students. We do not know how to manage our time or priorities. It is easier and more entertaining to spend time on Facebook than to spend time studying. There is a quote that states â€Å"The reason why people fail is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment. † In this moment college students want to socialize and have fun, they put their future on the back burner because they cannot feel the effects of their underachievements. Facebook also has its advantages as well. For example many college students can use facebook market place to sell their cars, books, computers etc. With such a large number of people in this network it makes it easier to sell your items. â€Å"According to a 2008 Kaplan study, one in 10 college admissions officers routinely check out college applicants’ Facebook and MySpace pages. And some 38% of them found posts and pictures that reflected poorly on those prospective students. A study conducted at Ohio State University concluded that students who were Facebook user had a GPA 5-10 points lower than non Facebook users. Students who did not use Facebook dedicated more time to studying than users. It is important to keep everything on your facebook mutual. You do not want someone to be able to look at your profile picture and know everything about you. If you are a prospective college student, or a college student ready to find a good job, or apply for an internship it is import ant to sensor your profile. Your profile picture should be of you at a party with a drink or cigarette in your hand, kissing your significant other, or anything sexy or provocative. It should be a mutual picture of you in a nice setting. You should also be cautious of what you put in your profile description. The way you talk, and describe yourself shows a lot about your character. College students talk in slang amoung there friends, which is not a bad thing, but it should be limited to just that, amoung your friends. A young college graduate applied for an internship in a consulting company in Chicago, when the company looked up his facebook this is what they found in his profile description â€Å"†smokin’ blunts† (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex† Though this individual may have been joking or trying to be funny, it made him like he lacked good judgement and very unprofessional. They found things that went against the values of the company. These are not the kind of people companies are looking to hire. They are interested in responsible and modest people. Facebook and MySpace are only two years old but have attracted millions of avid young participants, who mingle online by sharing biographical and other information, often intended to show how funny, cool or outrageous they are. † For some Facebook is a new identity, you can be whoever you want because you are hiding in front of a computer screen. You can make you rself seem however you would like by just an update of a status. It can also hinder your social ability to communicate with people. A cell phone build one wall between two people, texting and social networking builds two. Many college students have â€Å"hooked up† with and gone on blind dates with complete stranger they have met over Facebook. Most facebook users including myself have accepted friend request by strangers. Maybe you accepted them because of your mutual friends, or maybe other reasons. Whatever the reason, someone who tries to hit on you, or ask you out on facebook can manipulate your profile. They know which friends your both have in common because of the â€Å"mutual friends list† they know what type of music you listen to, what your religious and political views are, even your favorite quotes. A friend of mine met an attractive guy over facebook. They started chatting a few times a week, and eventually set up a date. She said she had a good time, but that it was almost too perfect because they had so much in common. It was obvious that he had done his research, and did it well. He used her facebook information to get her to like him, he knew exactly the right things to talk about and say. For all she knew he could have been a crazy stalker with bad intentions. If you have just graduated and you are looking for a job, Facebook could either make or break your career. Most companies take the time and research potential employees. They would like to hire people with a clean record and reputation to represent their companies. Many have lost their jobs because of their Facebook profiles. Though you may try to keep your profile as clean as possible, the comments your friends leave you also count. You are who you hang out with and if your friends leave you inappropriate comments or tag you in an old party picture it could very well jeopardize and close doors for your future. According to Alex Patino, a Resident Assistant here at Kean University, the Office of Residence Life requires that you sign a contract disclaiming that no inappropriate pictures and/or comments are posted on your Facebook or any social networking site you belong to. Any Resident Assistant caught or reported to have any offensive material of his or her website can be put on probation, and if serious enough the student may be fired. I decided to conduct my own research to find out how many hours a day college students spend on facebook and how it affects their work and study habits. I made a multiple choice and one open ended question survey and sampled about 115 students from all different colleges. I posted my survey from survey monkey to my facebook status. From there I waited for students to respond. Out of the 115 students who participated in the survey, 46 % spent two to three hours on facebook per day. That is almost half of those who participated. 11 % spent two to three hours, and 8 % spent an unhealthy 5 hours or more on facebook, that is almost a whole day at work. 35 % of students said they spend an hour or less on facebook which is the amount of time we should be limiting ourselves to being online. When asked what activities they do online, most students said they spend most of their time on facebook checking for notifications, chatting, and said most of their time was spent browsing through user’s profiles and pictures. One student said: â€Å"I do not use facebook anymore. Have no use for it†¦ It is nothing but a ‘Hackers’ paradise. † The Face book dos and don’ts -Do not post to much personal information about yourself. Remember that your reputation is important and your information should be mutual Also remember strangers can view your profile. Ex: address cell phone number place of work) Your close friends already know that information you do not need to post it for everyone else to see – Be careful what pictures you upload of yourself. Many people do not personally know you, and can get the wrong idea of who you are by the way you present yourself in photos. Employers like to keep an eye on their employees, drunken pictures or provocative pictures can ruin your chances of landing a job -Do not ever post on your status where you will be, and who you will be with. There are such things as facebook stalkers and they might really show up – Do not believe everything you see online. More than 75% of students who participated in my survey said they spend most of their time looking at other user’s profiles. People can pretend to be who ever they’d like online â€Å"Everything you say can and will be used against you. † We all have heard that saying somewhere or another that is used in court or upon arrest. But did you ever think everything on your facebook could be used against you in some way? Well think again. According to one East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania professor, a joke she made about students on her facebook was not taken lightly. She posted comments joking about killing students. The comment stated â€Å"Had a good day today, did not want to kill even one student 🙂 Now Friday was a different story. † What she thought were playful joking comments led to her suspension at the University. Even upon her return students were very angry that she was allowed back into the classroom. The jokes were strictly meant for family and friends, but when posting something on a public website, others who may not know u as well may feel threatened and take â€Å"jokes† to be serious.