Bobby Kaltenbach

News Editor

    With over 750 million visitors, Facebook has become a world-wide sensation. Every day, more and more people are logging on and sharing their pictures, interests, and thoughts.

    This free exchange of personal information sometimes causes users to underestimate Facebook’s permanence.  People, particularly adolescents, don’t seem to understand that much of what that they post online is liable to stay there forever, free for future generations to access. talk about the new feature that builds a timeline of important events.

    Some, however, claim that Facebook’s wide accessibility is actually a positive. They believe that Facebook is a good way to keep tabs on friends and family as well as inform others of what’s going on in the user’s life.

    Adherents to this point of view hold that the permanency is one of the best features. They believe that it will be fun to one day look back and be able to see what they were doing many years prior.

    This type of reasoning would be perfectly legitimate if people weren’t so short-sighted. Teenagers sometimes do not appreciate the fact that everything they post is widely available, and could be embarrassing in the future.  According to Nikolas Anderson (12), “ I can’t help being afraid that potential employers will one day look back and see all of the crazy partying I’ve done.”

    Unfortunately, Nikolas’s situation is common to many teenage Facebook users. It will be interesting to see how many future political candidates or other public figures will be humiliated by imprudent Facebook use.

    Facebook can be a great way to communicate with friends and family. Despite that, people get into trouble when they fail to appreciate how public and lasting it actually is. While it is perfectly fine to be active on Facebook, maybe the picture of you mooning the camera on prom night isn’t exactly the legacy you want to leave behind. That’s right, I’m talking to you, Nikolas.