"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"

This blog is a response to these two links:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html

http://www.shanekrebs.com/jcom/fcbook.swf

My response to these two links may be surprising. In order or balance I’m going to first discuss the likely response to the articles and then discuss what shocked me the most.

I loved the first link which shows the reality of privacy on the internet in a comical portrayal of a dog who claims that no one knows him as the computer screen reads off the details of his identity. I know people like this dog who post their lives history online and then become angry when an acquaintance or stranger knows more about them than they desire. Anything posted anywhere on the web can be found by someone with the knowledge of how to retrieve it. If you don’t want it known don’t post it. The second link about Facebook reinstates that once you post information everyone knows that information. Even your mom can find out who is your secret crush and about the party this weekend. This is no new information to me. It amazes me that loss of privacy is new information to others who use the internet. Now I’ll move onto the good stuff.

The article about a mother and daughter on Facebook didn’t shock me because of the word “friend” turning into a verb done on Facebook, nor the lack of privacy which is obvious because people place information about themselves on their Facebook porofiles for others to see. What grabbed my attention were two grown adults with a close relationship as mother and daughter who were afraid to be friends on Facebook. The two sounded like they had a great relationship. Enough of a relationship that the daughter was willing to comment on her mother’s editorial. It is not as if they have been estranged for years and want nothing to do with each other. And yet they can’t be friends because it might be “social suicide.” I had to remind myself that this was college student, an adult by my standards because I felt like the girl was 14. Having her mom pop in for a friendly hello to a site that contains information that the mom already knows is a bad thing? And the mom backs off as if she was dealing with an early teen who is constantly embarrassed by her parents. Speak to each other as adults. It there is an adult reason for not being Facebook friends than discuss it and move on. As a college student I wish my mom had a Facebook account. It would be another way for us to keep in touch despite our busy schedules. I think I will set one up for her.

-Melanie Fenn