Not sure about anyone else, but putting politicians and online pop culture in the same sentence strikes me as a little funny. I tried friending Kevin Rudd on Facebook once. He never replied. Maybe he worked out I'm American. I also logged into "John Howard's" blog, where I read about "the man under my super hip funky exterior" (it wasn't really John Howard by the way).
Yet articles about Obama's Facebook advice have hit the headlines. Young people, Obama said, are not being wise about their Facebook use, with uploaded content that could come back later to haunt them in life. This comment was part of a wider speech about youth motivation, with Obama entreating young people to "stay focused, find something you're passionate about". Too many kids are underachieving, and in the dog-eat-dog global economy, it's more important than ever for American teens to take charge of their futures.
Uproar followed Obama's comments, with parents and teachers leading the backlash against Obama's "interference" with American kids. Conservative politicians also pushed for a boycott against the address, saying Obama was trying to push an agenda on American kids.
To be honest, I don't quite get what the fuss is about. It's not like Obama is trying to legislate against the use of Facebook, and telling kids to try hard in school is not new. Sports stars have been doing it for years.
The idea of Facebook being pulled up later in life, though, is an interesting one. For me, I don't really think about what my Facebook will be like in ten years. Or if I'll even have one. Or whether there'll be anything I'll regret on there.
But the very public nature of the Internet makes it entirely possible that somewhere, someday, someone might look up my profile (why, I don't know) and Facebook-creep on me from across the years. My social interactions - which had always been a private sphere, until the advent of the Internet - has become public. Once upon a time, we kept diaries and had private phone conversations; now, we Facebook and Twitter. Private & public have collided, and currently there's no legislation to divide the two. What kind of implications does this have? Where does private and public start and end?
Do you ever think of what repercussions your Facebook may have in the future?
A thought-provoking post - I often think about this issue.
ReplyDeleteWith the added benefits of online digital communication platforms also comes added responsibility. No longer is the Internet a place where users can operate anonymously.
I use Facebook on a daily basis but I'm always aware of the potential to have my personal information misused or fall into the wrong hands. In my blog post this week I discussed this in relation to the increasing problem of identity theft and cyber crime http://matt3010.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/crime-in-a-digitalised-world/.
On most occasions however it's other Internet users who decide what content is uploaded. Again if you look at Facebook all of the content is user-generated which means that any one anywhere can upload photos or other information about pretty much anything.
So what's the answer? Let no one upload anything onto the Internet? Monitor the Internet? Or, as Internet users, should we be mindful of the potential to have our information misused?
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the future of my Facebook until I read this post - I don't think I will ever regret it - it is fun, not to be taken seriously, I haven't put my personal info on there except an e-mail address and I can keep in touch with friends around the world. Sure it has 150 albums of my weekend up there but only my friends (or so I think) can see them having a "super heavy private profile". I can always delete the account like I did with my myspace although will now be wondering where all that information will go...Bit scary actually. Either way Matt's right - it is user generated - If you do not want people stalking you then don't put up your address, your mobile, your place of work, where you will be at 11pm on a Saturday night or disclose your mum's credit card number. It is just common sense. I read Matt's blog and if you are not careful any one can find themselves in a situation where our lives have literally been stolen - maybe then people's statuses won't seem so important anymore.