By Harold Flickinger ’07

Not long ago, if a young man noticed a young girl whom he found attractive in class or at the dining hall, he’d have his work cut out. The boy would confront the girl face-to-face, sweaty palms and all, and ask for a phone number, risking personal rejection all the way. Today with new technology updated every other minute in cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, and faster computers—new ways are invented for students to learn, communicate, and socialize. On the web, Internet social communities like MySpace and Facebook allow for that same boy to introduce himself, not only to the girl, but to the entire campus without leaving the comforts of his dorm. And in facing rejection online—no sweat.

So what exactly is the draw? What is it that has America’s teens and young adults flocking to these sites in record numbers? It’s cool and no one wants to be left out.

MySpace, created in 2003 by University of California film student Tom Anderson and USC business grad Chris DeWolfe was originally designed as a way for the inventors to stay in touch, advertise social events, post blogs, and share photos. The site quickly expanded through “Adding Friends”—each person becomes a “Friend” of another by adding him or her to their collection. Visitors can view who knows whom. The blogs give members opportunities to rant or riff on the topic of their choice. Forums and common interest groups are available as a way of networking in areas from literature to business, cars to pets, religion to wine tasting, and many more.

One year after MySpace’s invention, Harvard student Mark Zukerberg developed Facebook as a digital play on the old paper facebooks distributed on campuses to familiarize new students with their classmates and faculty. Unlike MySpace, which offers a free membership to anyone wishing to sign up, Facebook requires both a high school or college I.D. number, and an affiliated e-mail address.

Geared more toward networking through common interests, Facebook groups tend to be more student-centered, based on specific events happening around campus. Groups can form to comment on current technology or politics, gather people for campus rallies, stay in touch concerning academic clubs and organizations, goof on pop culture—and of course, as a way of advertising the time and place for the biggest party of the week.

That’s where the two sites diverge in design. Where MySpace offers more creative expression, Facebook seems to be an enormous bulletin board for the social scene on- and off-campus. MySpace offers complete control in layout design, adding the element of personalization. MySpacers can choose background colors, fonts, post pictures of favorite rockers or rappers, post slideshows of home photos, and even leave personalized notes for “Friends” on message boards a la the old magnetic colored letters stuck on refrigerators.

You can post your favorite song or your own original music. Former general manager and music director of WSYC-FM Rusty Roberts ‘06 works in the music industry for a promotions company in the Boston area. He explained the positive aspects, “The Internet is a way for bands to make it big. Over the past two years, the advent of the blog has made it easier for bands to gain exposure and get signed to a record label. We have a MySpace page, and we use it to help network with bands to let them know that our promotional services are readily available at the drop of a hat.”

With the rising popularity of YouTube—a site featuring free videos now compatible with MySpace layouts—many independent filmmakers are posting their work as a way of making their art available.

The layout of every Facebook page is uniform giving a profile picture beside each student’s personal information: birth date, hometown, contact information with e-mail, Instant Messenger (IM) screen name, residence—many give the specific house number—and cell phone number.

In recent years, identity theft is a growing problem, so much so that credit card companies and banks offer coverage against it. Yet teens and young adults happily and willingly post their information on sites like Facebook or MySpace for all the world to view.

Granted, there is some privacy in action here. Both sites have privacy blockers preventing random strangers from viewing their page. But many choose not to block, in part because most of the people who see the information are in their immediate vicinity. Essentially, if any form of stalking or harassment were to take place via this Internet avenue, then how simple would it be to find a victim just down the hall?

Sophomore Simone Lebens, a member of both sites, explained her experience with online communities, “When I first started using MySpace, I didn’t use the privacy blockers because it was for meeting people, and I am only MySpace friends with people I know. But when I started getting messages from older men I started using the privacy settings.”

Senior Christiana Theobald differentiated between the two sites, “I personally dislike Facebook because it’s too localized for me. Anybody can see me and actually find me in real life, which I find uncomfortable. MySpace is more anonymous since it’s so big, you can be friends with your family members and classmates, but you can also talk to people from around the U.S. and even the world.”

University administrators are familiar with problems that come up since so many students are members of one or both communities.

Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, Roger Serr, commented about the dangers of giving too much information, “It can be a great thing, but people need to be careful.” He warns students, “You can meet new people and keep in touch with your friends, but it’s a matter of being prudent.” Serr admitted his own kids use these sites, but stresses to them the importance of safety in what they post. “A lot of kids are putting way too much information on these sites.”

Aside from the risk of becoming the victim of an online predator, there’s also the risk of presenting oneself in an unflattering manner. MySpace and Facebook are smeared with pictures of students’ Friday night excursions at the bar and many under-aged students post photos of themselves drinks in hand. Plenty of pictures display young female students dressed in extremely provocative clothing.

MySpace is the third most visited site in the U.S. with about 230,000 new accounts everyday. Facebook is the seventh most frequented site with about 20,000 new members daily. In July 2005, Anderson and DeWolfe sold MySpace to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. for an estimated $580 million. Backed by Murdoch, the now ubiquitous site sponsors major motion pictures and television shows. While Facebook seems to be allocated to college and high school campuses, MySpace is a buzzword overheard anywhere you find a twenty-something.

The new fad has many professional employers beginning to look at these sites as part of their interviewing process. Some students feel this is an invasion of privacy seeing as they’re billed as personal web spaces designed for friends. What right does a company have to come into a job candidate’s personal life to snoop around?

Junior Megan Oates feels strongly about the invasion of privacy, “I don’t like the fact that I now have to wonder if the police, school administrators and places of employment are now ‘stalking’ my personal website as well. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Director of the Women’s Center, Nicolette Yevich disagrees. She’s all for it. “Anything is fair game,” she explained. “It’s no different than a potential employer calling a reference to see what kind of person you are. Students really need to think about how they’re portraying themselves.” Nicolette has her own Facebook account where students interested in getting involved in the center can meet the director, become familiar with available programs, and read bulletins about upcoming events. “It’s just like anything else on the internet,” she said, “There’re good and bad sides.”

The center has seen a few cases where students have been harassed through these kinds of websites, but more than anything, the center takes great strides in preventative education. REACT (Rape Educators And Contacts) speaks on campus about the many dangers affecting young college women, specifically online harassment.

The sites can be used for positive things as well. Many universities, who’ve acknowledged the growth and activity of MySpace and Facebook, use the sites as a way of communicating with students. The average college student may check their campus e-mail once a day, but they might log on to Facebook two to three times a day to see what their friends are up to. As a result professors and staff develop accounts to keep students updated. Serr said, “I’m all for MySpace and Facebook accounts for student organizations.” Nicolette uses E-vites (online invitations) through her Facebook account to make students aware of events, and she’s currently thinking of opening a MySpace account for the Women’s Center.

The rapid expansion of Facebook and MySpace, and other similar sites, has attracted the attention of mainstream America—the end result is yet to be determined. But an online community is still a community. They can be a great form of expression but like navigating any community, personal safety should be a concern.

Harold, an English major who graduates in May, is the intern for SU Magazine.

When students get a chance they check into their Facebook or MySpace accounts. The popularity of these sites has led to organizations, clubs, businesses, and institutions setting up their own accounts to stay in touch with this pool of young adults.