Collegiate Times

Facebook's recent website update, allowing non-users to search member profiles through popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo, has many students up in arms, upset about what they feel are blatant violations of privacy and safety.

While Facebook's Frequently Asked Questions explains that users will still have control over their privacy based on their personal user settings, many worry that Facebook is becoming too big, too fast, and making it possible to find out substantial personal information about anyone with little effort. While Facebook has done its part in posting updates on the user homepage to keep its users up-to-date, it is also counting on the ignorance of its users to make this specific feature successful.

According to Facebook, anyone who does not want their information spread through search engines, or open to the general public, has the option of concealing whichever information they wish. However, the majority of users on the site are students in some form or another. It is expected that irregular account holders, or those busy with class and work, aren't eagerly awaiting the newest Facebook features and updates. Most of us use the social networking site for just that: a way to keep in touch with friends, post pictures and make plans. Not only are all of the new updates annoying, they undermine student confidence in the site. When Facebook was first launched in 2004, its simple features and revolutionary social networking capabilities attracted many college users. Since then, many new updates have been added, some better than others. However, this addition of features has also left many users weary of Facebook and untrusting of Facebook management. Most of us don't go out of our way to pay attention to every change taking place, and maybe that is our fault. Maybe we need to become more aware of what kind of networking site we really belong to before we continue providing Facebook with personal information.

Facebook knows our age demographic well, and they count on our membership to continue to run a successful website. The recent decision to allow nonusers to search public Facebook information was one made in the best interest of the company, not us as its members. Those who do not want their personal information accessed through search engines are encouraged to protect themselves and their privacy by utilizing the a variety of privacy options that, just like the rest of the site, aren't as simple as they used to be.