MY TERM PROJECT PRESENTATION

My term project's title was "Facebook: Social Networking or Social Threat?". It basically covered the benefits of using a social networking site, in this case, Facebook. People benefit from it because they can keep in touch with old friends and make new ones. It's also considered a helpful way for people with low self-steem or people who have communication problems to make new friends. Nowadays, not only students have joined but also employers and people from different communities. However, according to a study made by some students from Pace University, 80% of students use Facebook.
I also discussed the many uses of this site, which studies state that most of its users use it to view photos, as procrastination and to check up on girlfriends/boyfriends.
The most significant negative aspects of this online site include the dangers of stalking, sexual harassment, spreading of fake rumours, spam, and computer viruses. Moreover, university and employers' surveillance is also becoming an important thing to consider when using these sites because administrators are starting to use it as well and students have gotten in trouble for different reasons. Examples include:
• Fisher College - a student was expelled after posting a critique of a campus police officer on Facebook
• Trinity University - A graduating senior lost a job offer to work for Disney after her info on her Facebook account contradicted her interview answers
• The Facebook postings of 3 Alabama college students accused of burning down churches will be used as evidence in their upcoming charges.
Furthermore, I discussed the privacy issues and the Terms of Use of the site, which in summary state that the information that every users posts on the site, will belong to them even if the user decides to cancel the account. This means, that information might be shared with third parties.

For these reasons, my conclusions are that we all need to be careful on the kind of information that we post online and always read the Terms of Use.