"Make New Friends Online, and You Won't Start College Friendless" (3/21/07 p. A19)

Our world today is so much different than it was even five years ago. It seems odd to me that with the growth of the internet and sites on the internet that people are actually losing their jobs and diginity over what is published about them.

The two main sites that come in to mind are www.facebook.com or www.myspace.com. Being a college student, I recognize facebook as the more popular of the two.

I have heard a lot of negative remarks about facebook and what it is doing to people. Or maybe, what they are doing to themselves. Posting pictures of underage drinking and other questionable behaviors posted on their homepage. However, I stumbled across a positive article relating to facebook that had some good ethical points about the college student dominated site.

"Make New Friends Online, and You Won't Start College Friendless." The title itself is comforting to students that are worried about their first year of college and having no friends the first couple of days.

As reported by The Times reporter, the students discussed in the article are meeting on facebook through groups signifying their college and that they will be new freshmen. Because of these groups, several students are designating meeting places to become familiar with other students from around the country and around the world.

Of course, not everyone is enthusiastic about meeting future classmates online. With all the precautions we are encouraged to take about meeting strangers over the internet, facebook has somewhat of a security blanket over it, ensuring students it is reasonably safe.

So, I guess ethics could be interpreted different ways in this article. It is a plus that students are entering their first year of college with friends, however, the way they are meeting these friends could be risky and dangerous. All in all, ethics play a big part in facebook and the issues it brings up. They can be good or bad, depending on what point of view you're coming from.

Article by: KATE STONE LOMBARDI