facebook

Probably the biggest characteristic that defines our generation is the use of computers and the internet.  Computers and the internet have been around before our generation, but it wasn’t until recently that they have become as widespread as they are today.  Along with this technology being available to more and more people, we see a rise in social sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.  Sites such as these are known to have their pros and cons.   One pro of a site like Facebook is to stay in touch with friends from high school or college.  Another pro is that you can say what is on your mind, so in a way it helps relieve stress.  This pro can easily turn into a con though.  As we saw in Joe’s story, he took this a little too far and got the police and homeland security involved.  This is another con about sites such as Facebook.  Even though they allow us to speak our mind, we lose the benefit of body language and tone.  Had Joe said this in person there probably would not have been a problem because you could tell by his tone that he was joking. 

            I do not think Facebook pages or similar sites should be censored.  I think that if you are stupid enough to say something such as you are going to kill someone on a site where around a few hundred people can see it, then you should deserve the consequences.  It is common sense that if you make a bomb threat in an airport that you will be arrested and detained.  The same principle applies to Facebook.  Some of the people reading your posts might not even know who you are, therefore how are they supposed to know if you are the kind of person who would actually do that or not?  They don’t and the police are not any different from them.  As far as Facebook getting me into trouble, that has never happened yet, although it has helped me uncover some truths.  A girl I was dating for a long time was talking to another guy and I found out by comments back and forth between them on Facebook.  Soon after, we broke up and never talked again.  Other than that though, I have never had any stories or heard of any from my friends about anyone getting into major trouble because of Facebook.