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For many, Facebook is a great place to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones. However, some say that information posted on Internet sites like Facebook may have unforseen consequences.

Internet Anonymity May Not Be What It Seems

By: Kate Slomkowski

Posted: 10/26/05

It's hard to imagine a time when having a computer in a dorm room wasn't common, and in order to find out what your friends were doing you'd actually have to walk down the hall and knock on their door.

In today's technology-savvy society, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is becoming the common way to set up dinner dates, Facebook is a way to keep in touch with high school pals and web logs replace the daily gossip column. With a growing attachment to the Internet, comes a false sense of security that can lead to trouble in the future if the user isn't careful.

Kristine Nowak, an assistant professor in the department of communication services, said many people think their presence on the Internet is more anonymous than it really is.

"Anything you put on the Internet you better be ready to see again in 20 years," Nowak said. "Your kids will someday go online and see you."
Johanna Elsensohn, a 7th-semester biology and Spanish major, joined Facebook last fall because her roommate wanted her to join. She checks it twice a week.

"[Facebook is] an easy way to communicate with people when you don't have time to write an e-mail or talk on the phone," Elsensohn said, "But it can be bad because everyone has access to it. Many people don't think other people will check it."

Brittany Perrone, a 5th-semester HDFS major, agreed with Elsensohn.
"People put way too much information up there," Perrone said. "It makes you vulnerable, like your home address. People can find you, which can be good or bad or whatever."

According to an article in The Boston Globe on Sept. 27, Brandeis University runs a program for its incoming students on proper Internet etiquette. New students are also informed that some university administrators are checking Facebook entries before hiring students for campus positions.

The Facebook web site, www.facebook.com, states in its terms and conditions when you put information in any part of the site you "automatically grant ... represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to Facebook, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, perform, display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such information ... and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing."

In the AIM privacy policy, they state that although they do not monitor individual conversations, they can use them in certain cases. "Your AIM information, including the contents of your online communications, may be accessed and disclosed in response to legal ... or in other circumstances in which AOL has a good faith belief that AIM or AOL are being used for unlawful purposes," according to the privacy policy.

"AIM shouldn't be a way to talk to friends," Perrone said. "It takes away accountability. It's easier to face someone on AIM."

Val Gorbatyuk, a 5th-semester computer science major, uses AIM to find out what his friends are doing by checking away messages.

"If you're shy, AIM is a good way to ask more intimate questions," Gorbatyuk said. "But conversations on AIM can take too long, talking on the phone is quicker and shorter."

Elsensohn uses AIM daily, however, she said excessive AIM chatting could be harmful.

"There's a difference between regular conversations and conversation over the internet," Elsensohn said. "You use a different style of language and you're more curt. The more you use one form of communication, the less adept you get at the other."

Elsensohn said one of her biggest AIM pet peeves is when someone who lives next door will IM her rather than just coming over.

Nowak said that from her studies with computer and human communication, no one chooses one form of communication over the other.

"Online conversations that last longer than six months translates into a different mode of communication," Nowak said. "AIM is used for some things, a phone for others. The medium you choose to communication sends it's own kind of message."

Nowak said she is currently working on creating a virtual environmental for UConn students that would serve as a place to interact with other students, create study groups and play games.