Beware of Facebook danger

The popular Facebook website, which connects peers and classmates, also gives predators an opportunity to find unsuspecting victims. Facebook permits access to anyone with a legitimate university e-mail address. Students, professors, graduate assistants, landscapers and electricians - all people at the university - have a legitimate university e-mail address. In other words, every employee or student at this university can view the information posted on an individual's personal page.

When I began working on the campus, I discovered how accessible the website was. Older male colleagues would log onto the website and "check out" random women they met or saw on the campus. If they saw a woman wearing sorority letters, they searched the sorority until a picture of the woman appeared. By simply clicking on the photo, they gained access to the woman's personal information. I trust my colleagues, but I doubt every person with a university e-mail address is as trustworthy.

Facebook is a danger to students. Almost every woman I know reveals her residence on the website. Some mistakenly believe because viewing one's page is limited to others at their university, it is safer than other blog-type websites that have open access. However, a predator would be more likely to know and pursue someone local. Online predators abduct and abuse kids they meet on the Internet every day. Why would it be any different on a college campus?

Even scarier, people can post photos of others on their accounts and label their names. This is a problem for athletes who find themselves facing penalties because fans post questionable photos of them. These photos may or may not be valid, but athletic administrators and coaches - who also have university e-mail addresses - can easily search athletes' names and access the photos.

Worst of all, Facebook exposes the insecurity of some college students. By posting intimate details and graphic photos, they portray themselves as potential victims.

I admit when I was a naive freshman, I created a Facebook account. I posted my biographical information, my hobbies, my residence and a link to my personal photographs. Because I used Facebook primarily to chat with friends and link to old high school classmates, I did not see the potential dangers. In fact, I thought it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and create relationships with acquaintances. If I met people, I plugged in their names and learned about their personalities. A friend of mine even referred to the website as "the stalker pages."

Students use Facebook to boast about their drinking habits, their relationships and their opinions. Friends can publicly comment on one another's pages. When students have new and attractive photos of themselves - often half-naked vacation photos - they immediately attach them to their home pages. When Facebook users change their photos, their friends are indicated of the updates as soon as they log on.

In addition to exposing photos, students post their instant messenger screen names, which link to more information. People often use away messages to inform their friends of where they are. To predators, this is another tool. There are only so many McKeldin libraries in College Park.

I encourage all students with a Facebook account to reassess what information they choose to expose online. The Internet can be a powerful tool, but it can also be a dangerous source for criminals and perverts. In addition, employers have caught on to the Facebook obsession and often find ways to check the profiles of potential employees for implicating information and photographs.

My Facebook days are over.

Alyson Waite is a junior public relations major. She can be reached at msawaite@umd.edu.