How Facebook has Destroyed Privacy Boundaries Essay

How Facebook has Destroyed Privacy Boundaries - Essay Example In recent years, a number of social networking websites have been able to take advantage of the teeming amount of users looking to register and use the social networking services. This in turn has provided these websites with unwanted levels of influence that has tended to create privacy debacles that were unheard of in conventional human interaction (Berkman and Shumway). Perhaps one of the most popular websites for social networking in recent years has been Facebook. The website has come under the limelight time and again. Previously it was under the limelight as a business model for innovation and hallmark breakthroughs but in recent times it has been scrutinized for breaches of privacy. The various forms of breach of privacy have been recognized and investigated and is confirmed phenomenon leaving little to doubt them anymore (Iachello and Hong). Some breaches of privacy are caused due to users overlooking fine print details while other breaches of privacy occur due to online sur veillance. In addition to everything else, certain forms of breach of privacy occur due to the inherent design of social networking platforms. This paper will focus on the various forms of breach of privacy that have resulted from the use of Facebook whether these breaches were intentional or otherwise. Furthermore, the consequences of these breaches will be looked into in detail to gauge their effects on ordinary people. It is natural for human beings to be wary of each other when conducting conversations in person. Another major factor that limits the amount of information carried by human beings is the limit on information delivered at any one point in time through conversations. It would be unrealistic to assume that a person could convey all kinds of personal and family information to another in one meeting alone. However, this situation is totally reversed when using computing platforms to interact. People who use social networking websites such as Facebook will realize that a large amount of information has to be divulged in order to sign up for such services. The typical information required for such sign ups consists of a person’s name, date of birth, email address, home address and the like. Other forms of personal information is exposed and brought to the forefront as a person tends to interact with their social circles (Pankoke-Babatz and Jeffrey). Social networks such as Facebook allow the user to search for and add new â€Å"friends† who are effectively anybody you might know including friends, family and acquaintances. The interaction between a typical Facebook user and his â€Å"friends† is carried out through the wall of each individual account holder. The idea is simple and seem revolutionary at first – each user has a wall that anybody can write upon if they are included in the individual’s friend list. Moreover, other users do not necessarily have to write things on the wall, instead, they can simply choos e to like things online and share it on their friend’s walls. This means that if I was browsing the internet for a pair of boxing gloves and I happened to find a pair I like, I could essentially share the link on my wall and on the wall of my friends. This would allow me to tell my friends that I recently might have made a purchase of boxing gloves and that they might be interested in the same boxing gloves. At first sight the idea seems just absolutely amazing. Imagine the power of being able to share