Educating Students on the Dangers of Social Networking

by Andrea O'dell, SUNY Cortland, June 28, 2007

Printer-friendly version

In the article “The Brave New World of MySpace and Facebook,” authors Sheldon Steinbech and Lynn Deavers assert that “college students are flocking to social networking sites on the Internet in stunning numbers, often unaware of the potential dangers that can arise there.” Social networking has become increasingly popular over the past few years, and the majority of college students participate in some form of this networking. Facebook has been running for four years now and has more than 12 million users on the site.

Social networking is a great way for students to communicate with family members or friends at other colleges and also to create picture albums to share memories with others. Although Facebook and Myspace provide a wonderful opportunity to communicate without having to pick up a phone, there are many dangers that come along with these networks of which people are not fully aware. “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.” (Steinbach) How can we work to prevent college students from facing these consequences? We aren’t going to be able to deter students from using these networks, so the only other option is to spread the knowledge of what we already know to create awareness for network users.

College students see the Myspace and Facebook networks as a private and protected place where they can communicate with others. One big mistake that these network users make is in trusting that these sites are safe and not seen by unwanted viewers. The internet is never a completely safe place and these users should be aware of this. Users on Facebook and Myspace post personal information when they create their homepage. This information includes your name, phone number, screen name, place of residency, and a list of interests that you wish to share with others. Information such as your phone number or place of residency should never be posted on sites like these because there is always a chance that a criminal can access this information. Users make the mistake of thinking that, “If I don’t “accept” someone as my friend on Facebook they can’t view my information” or, “I can set my Myspace account to private and no one unwanted can see my page.” This is where the danger comes into play with criminals who can hack into sites and work to find a way to stalk you or to steal your identity. So how can we work to avoid these dangers in social networking? “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.” (Steinbach) Along with the sites giving a warning, colleges should also give a warning to reduce the risk of these crimes occurring on their campuses. Perhaps in the past this was not a fear for college campuses, but social networking is on the rise and so should be the protection of its users.

Aside from worrying about criminals accessing your personal information there are other reasons for worry as well. When a student posts pictures in an album or inappropriate comments on someone’s page they are at a potential risk of getting into trouble within the rules of their college. College students will post pictures that show evidence of hazing or binge and underage drinking, all of which can get you into serious trouble while being in college. Some college campuses have banned their athletes from using Myspace and Facebook sites because of the risk that they could get in trouble for inappropriate and sometimes illegal activities being posted and talked about on these networks. Not only have students gotten in trouble with regards to Facebook, but Pablo Malavenda, Associate Dean of students at Purdue University in West Lafayette ran into a life-threatening problem because of his social networking. According to the article, “Facebook: A Campus Fad Becomes a Campus Fact” written by Cristian Lupsa, Malavenda caught a group of students selling cocaine and had them kicked of the college campus last year. These students, out of anger and probably embarrassment for their actions, created a Facebook group named “We Hate Pablo” and in this group there were directions to Malavenda’s home and instructions to “hurt and eliminate” him. This is a terrifying experience for a man and for his wife and children. Colleges need to work to educate students on the dangerous situations that Myspace and Facebook can put you in but in what ways? Students have no interest in reading a rule or guidebook on “The Dangers of Social Networking,” so how can we work to get a point across? At the University of Missouri-Columbia, they have a skit for summer orientations that is based around educating students on the perils of using these social networks. Creative skits are a great way to get points across to students, as they are appealing and enjoyable to sit through.

“Though the wildly popular Facebook.com began as a place for college students to post pictures and quirky interests, the site has now become a tool for potential employers, much to the chagrin of some young job-seekers.” (Andrea Fuller) Andrea Fuller reports on “Employers Snoop on Facebook” and raises the issue of dangers through social networking. In many cases, employers check the background information on job candidates, and recently have used Facebook as a method of doing so. This in turn puts students seeking jobs at a risk for employers to find out information about their personal lives that the students may want to keep private. ““Be careful about the image you portray in any public domain,” suggests a CDC in this article. If you do not want people to know something about you, especially an employer, do not put it up on Facebook.

We have educated students on the risks of drinking, doing drugs, having unprotected sex, and even walking alone when it is dark outside because these are all things that students engage in and it is only morally correct to educate students on the risks of each. Now with the rise in users on Facebook and Myspace, students should be informed and become aware of the dangers that come along with these as well. Educating students on the dangers that social networking can create in their lives should become a priority.

*Websites used:
insidehighered.com/views/2007/04/03/steinbach
www.csmonitor.com/2006/1213/p13s01-legn
daily.standford/article/2006/1/20/employersSnoopOnFacebook"

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://neovox.cortland.edu/mt/mt-tb.cgi/503

your thoughts?