www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization ByzanTEEN Turning to Social Websites

I am posting this because the influence and issues of these websites have been a matter for discussion lately. There has been positive and negative aspects touted regarding these sites in the news. What are your feelings and thoughts about them?

Teens Turning to Social Websites [news.bbc.co.uk]

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator

I would say that things like Myspace and Facebook can be a great thing, if they are managed properly. I can't stand it when little 15 year olds lie and say they are 21 and attract all of these old weirdos. It's sick. Plain and simple. There are privacy settings for a reason. I know a number of people who correctly manage thier Myspace and Facebook accounts and it is great. It can even be a great evangelization tool. Then there is also the issue of people who try and get as many "friends" as they can instead of checking out who is "friending" them. In principle it is something great but when it is abused it can be dangerous and get out of control.

I use a MySpace for one reason: to get back in touch with friends I've lost base on. I've found about 5 of my friends whom I haven't talked to in quite a long time and now to talk to often. I can't stand the fact, as Katie mentioned, that there are 13, 14, 15 year-olds on there who lie about their age and have 500 friends. I think they are abusing their blog just to look popular. I also don't like the fact that MySpace has the option for your profile to say you are there for relationships. I think that's a little too much, since I get people trying to be my friend who are obviously only there to get a mate. MySpace once used to be only for bands. Now it's gone extremely over the top. Be that as it may, I've had no problems with the site since I got a blog last year. But it's true, if one is careless on it and abuses it, then one shouldn't be on it, because that person is why researchers, parents, and news programs constantly look at these sites and question it.

Yes I think I also forgot to mention that Facebook was once ONLY for college students and other networks like large corporations. Now Facebook is becoming like Myspace. I'm not really a big fan of that.
Here is another reason to be careful of what you post of websites like Facebook and Myspace. Companies hire people people specifically to look up people who have applied for jobs there to see what they are "really" like. Someone could have a sparklng resume and go out drinking on the weekends and sometimes that shows on Facebook.
It has been a source of controversey. It isn't any violation of privacy if you post it on a public internet but is it fair to use that against? I think it is. Thoughts on this?