My Love-Hate Relationship With Facebook

A little over a year ago, I joined the Facebook addiction by getting an account (Jason R. Raines).  During that time, Facebook has been criticized for how it handles, or rather, fails to handle, privacy of information.  I read a number of blogs and articles about how to create more restrictive privacy settings, and even delete said Facebook account.

I took the advice suggested in one article and cranked down privacy settings so far that I became invisible on Facebook.  Friends of mine then began sending me messages like: “Hey are you okay?  Let me know what hospital you are in so I can come visit you!”  Well, not really, but I did get complaints from friends that they could not post things on my Facebook wall, etc.

As I weighed the pros and cons of having a Facebook account, I decided that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.  There are a number of people that I would not be in contact with were it not for Facebook.  These are people I have known, or been acquainted with, from all over the country.  Some of them are actual friends of mine in real life.

That last sentence is sure to throw some folks for a loop.  Some people have a very few, close, personal, friends on Facebook.  Some have thousands.  Facebook currently sets a limit of 5,000 friends for a personal page, but does not have limits for fan pages.  I won’t get into this too deeply here, except to say it is like separating a personal account from a business one.

Unlike Twitter, where all posted information is public, Facebook information is publicly viewable through a series of privacy filters that no one understands.  Some folks have been upset by this, and it gave me serious pause as well.  The bottom line is, do not post anything on Facebook, or anywhere else online (including emails), that you would not want the entire world to see.  Some people will be more comfortable sharing information than others.  Everyone has their own comfort level on this, and it is strictly a personal decision.  No one is forcing you to share your information.

The latest Facebook fussiness is about “Places”.  Facebook is using the GPS functions of smartphones to log user locations along with their status updates.  Again, this is up to the individual to decide if they want to share.  Advertisers are looking to benefit by being able to target ads to customers near their stores, or in a market where they sell their product.  It is an interesting idea, but most Americans have not woken up to the fact that cell phones can be used as homing devices to track our every move.  The government already has this capability, and does not need a warrant (thanks to the Patriot Act).  Why not let businesses use the same technology, especially when individuals are voluntarily giving the information up?

There are security concerns when sharing information, and increasingly, employers are monitoring social networks to see what their employees are saying online.  While I am proud to say that I am a father, I try not to post detailed information about my children on Facebook.  This is my own personal comfort level.  Friends and family members of mine are constantly putting pictures of family and social events online, without any reservations.  We have to make up our own minds on this.

For me, I have decided to be a participant, and increasingly use Facebook to share information, and get to know folks better.  I have reconnected with people I have not spoken to in years, and continue to develop friendships locally.  However, I tend not to share all the information from my very boring life, because of concerns that people will find out how truly boring it really is.  I hate the handling of privacy issues on Facebook, but love the sharing of information online.  Like many things in life, it’s complicated.

Related Articles

• Facebook, Places and Privacy… a Few Thoughts (geardiary.com)
• Discontent Grows With Facebook Places’ Ability To Tag Without Users’ Express Permission (crunchgear.com)