Like most college students, I am quite tied to my Facebook account and have put much of my life on the ever-growing social network. When I first heard about Facebook four years ago, I promised myself I would never sign my deal with the devil and get an account. Four years later and here I am, one of those people who logs on at least twice a day to update myself on things that the website says I care about.
After trying to quit numerous times, which only resulted in broken promises to myself and my support group, I have begun to realize that my profile on the site has become part of my own personality, for better or worse. Millions of people around the world can relate to the good and bad of having a Facebook account.
Beyond simply having to weigh keeping in touch with friends against any social overload you may face, many Facebook users are now facing a greater decision on whether to keep their account in face of the latest controversy over Facebook's privacy policy.
Essentially, Facebook, the world's largest social networking site with more than 400 million users, has been cutting back on its promises to keep the personal information of its users private. Recently, the site has opened up its users' private information to marketers and announced a new system through which "partner" websites will have access to user profiles.
Any regular Facebook devotee can attest to the hundreds of advertisements that pop up in the margins and know a little too much about your musical tastes and personal eating habits. While it is possible for any regular user to opt out of having his or her information exposed, the website's privacy policy is about 5,800 words and a harder read than James Joyce. As a result, many people like me are stuck without the time or the patience in order to keep our personal information truly secure.
However, these latest actions by Facebook have many Internet users and bloggers up in arms and pushing for an all-out boycott of the website. May 31 was even declared by many as "Quit Facebook Day" (although no Facebook event was created for it).
While the website has obviously stepped over the line in sharing user information with marketers and other websites in the name of a new sharing service, it remains to be seen whether these latest transgressions will result in true change in terms of Facebook's privacy policy and other issues. I actually thought this uproar would've come when FarmVille and Mafia Wars started to become popular and ruined the lives of users everywhere.
While this latest privacy issue is incredibly important, any actions taken by the online community to combat Facebook's power will be thwarted by two things. The first is general apathy or ignorance by the majority of Facebook users to these changes and what effect they will have. Many users, myself included, log on every day and pay little attention to the privacy policy of the site unless we are blocked from someone's profile and photo albums.
In addition to this, Facebook has smartly sided with its advertisers and sponsors by opening up the information of its users to the public market. It is a system that has worked for them so far and allows the website to truly bridge the gap between reality and the Internet.
However, Facebook should be concerned about the fickleness of the average Internet user. With too many more transgressions, the social networking powerhouse may go the way of MSN Messenger, MySpace and tens of other failed social networking engines. Where will I update my status then?
Joshua Lee is a political science junior
