To facebook or not to facebook? That is the question of the hour. A two-year old internet social networking website, Facebook has become so popular that it has morphed into a commonly used verb and caused enough waves to provoke big questions about public vs. private life, control and the technological gap between generations.
Canadian Ryerson University student, Chris Avenir, is feeling the ramifications of logging on. The administrator of the Facebook group “Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions” has been accused by his university administration of cheating by posting answers to a chemistry test on the study group’s page. Avenir is facing expulsion from his school on 147 counts of academic charges — one for himself and one for every student who belonged to the group and used it for homework help.
Avenir claims he did nothing more than share brainstorming techniques about homework questions, much as you might do in any study group. But some members may have crossed the line by posting actual solutions to questions on the webpage. Avenir is being held responsible for all of them. Ryerson university officials, perceived by the students supporting Avenir as being out of touch with how the technology works, decline to comment before the hearings are held on Tuesday.
Only one of many cases of Facebook getting people into trouble, what this story reminds us of is the fact that no matter how amenable this website is for doing those ordinary, private-life type things (joking, gossiping, flirting, sharing pictures, studying, joining a club), it can get dangerous to believe it is anything other than an extremely public space. Don’t get too comfortable when you spit out your latest blog, because chances are, it’s not just your brother that’s checking out your jokes, but Big Brother, too.
Paranoia? Maybe. But here’s a few more stories for you: Some Cincinnati boys were suspended after they used Facebook to jokingly accuse their school teacher of belonging to the Man/Boy Love Association — essentially labelling him a pedophile. Someone else was pleasantly surprised when an old high school buddy invited himself as a friend on their page, only to feel totally violated and humiliated after said “friend” meanly spread the word about her recent sex change operation. A psychiatrist was barred from entering the United States because he’d admitted — on Facebook — to having used psychedelic drugs in the 1970s. For reasons which should be obvious by now, teachers are generally discouraged from joining Facebook, lest it compromise their professional reputation and integrity. So if you have any of that to protect, tread carefully in this cutesy, addictive world of sharing and take some time to investigate your privacy options.
To facebook or not to facebook? The short answer is not. The long answer is I don’t have time to enlighten you any further because I’ve got to go update my status now.
This article was published Saturday, March 15, 2008.
