How Does Facebook Affect College Students' Understanding of Privacy - Essay Example

How does Facebook affect college understanding of privacy? Table of Contents Introduction 3 Rationale and Significance of the Study 4 Research Question 5 Sub-questions 7 Hypotheses 9 Methodology 10 Ways of Colleting First-hand Data 10 10 Review of literature 12 Historical review 12 The key features of Facebook 12 Characteristics of users 14 Recent Books and Articles about the Relationship between Facebook and Personal Privacy 16 Critical Analysis 17 References 19 Appendix 22 Introduction The current world has witnessed numerous discoveries and developments made by people in the recent past. Most outstanding is the emergence of computers and use of networks which have transformed the world. The world has become a multi-information globe. People can easily access specific information through multiple sources and connect with relatives and friends living thousands of miles away. The society has highly advanced science and technology. Industrial development has led to invention of numerous appliances. With constant advancement in technology, ever home could have a telephone. Currently, technology has developed to invent mobile phones which can access any information with convenience. As a result of easy access to information, there has been significant change in how people view information. The use of internet has not only made life more convenient but also changed the entire world. The network has become a major platform of mainstream media unlike previously when the media was just newspapers, televisions, and radio. The network has facilitated saving of resources besides availing more information in less time. Today, more and more people are able connect to people from across the world through social networks. Numerous social platforms have emerged with Facebook being the most famous. Facebook has evolved since its creation in 2004 by Zuckerburg, to become party of people’s daily lives. People access the application through laptops, computers, iPad, and smartphones. Through this application an individual can publish their real names, images, emails, relationship status, as well as birthdays. Various people have understand privacy in varying perspectives, particularly the youth. Most young people have an immature and incomplete understanding of the world. Currently, the main challenge that needs to be addressed is whether the online article about Facebook has an impact on college students’ understanding on personal confidentiality problem. Facebook offers a great platform that allows individuals to interact with more people online as well as know themselves better. However, sometimes too much personal details are exposed to the public. This excessive exposure results to too many negative consequences. Although the laws stipulates the right to freedom of expression, instances of cyber bullying, phishing, as well as, malicious slanders have increased at an alarming rate in people’s daily lives. These consequences will normally emerge since the application user’s privacy is not adequately protected. Indeed Facebook has joined the list of mainstream media with majority of people using it across the world. People have real time information through links to current news, reading articles, making friends, as well as publishing their own personal ideas. While people embrace the benefits of advantages of the emergence of Facebook, they ought to consider the other side of the coin as well. Instead of evaluating the benefits virtually, the users ought to be allowed to analyse the benefits and disadvantages of Facebook themselves. Rationale and Significance of the Study With the development of the network, people can find more and more violence and fraud on the Internet. Some people steal network information to deceive network friends. Some people use the threat of revealing user information. Such situations are becoming increasingly serious. Researchers have found, a lot of people become victims of cyber-bullying leading to weariness, truancy, psychological disorders, and even suicide (N. 2014). Now the situation is more serious, in contrast to other older students, university students have more free time; they are also more aware of the importance of friends. Relative to high school students, they have a more stable source of income and more social activities. Therefore, they can expose more of their personal information online. A British report claimed, “Facebook is the worst social network for bullying with 19-year-old BOYS the most common victims” (Gayle 2013). In the university, older teenagers, as a result of self-esteem and privacy issues, do not want to encounter the terrible consequences in case teachers and their parents see their posts. If they cannot protect their privacy that will caused a lot of unpredictable consequences. Research Question How does Facebook affect college students understanding of privacy? Privacy refers to the right for a person to be free from secret surveillance, and the ability to regulate how, when, and to whom their individual confidential information should be publicized. Social networks are currently among the major types of technology with significant impact on information privacy. Among the social networks, Facebook is most active and commonly used by people all over the world. Despite its popularity, there is limited knowledge and understanding on how youths and adults use the social network. When Facebook first went online, it opened a new avenue of communication for millions of people around the world. The major attraction was the ability to help young people share their personal information with their friends. Although Facebook has played a significant role in telecommunication, it has presented a problem in privacy protection among college school students, thus doing more harm than good (Christofides, 2010). The known fact about students is that they disclose a large amount of their personal information online. Recent studies about the information disclosure on Facebook show that the majority of college school students reveal personal information such as, relationship status, email address, the list of their friends’ birthdays, as well as other networked connections through the sites. They also provide their real names, complete birthdays and real clear photo images of themselves in their profile.  Students also utilize the Facebook platform to share notes and status updates such as the activities they are carrying out. They also share their personal thoughts and feelings.  In Facebook platforms, people can post videos and photos of themselves or friends to their friends or any other Facebook user (Jones, 2005). Young people are eager to meet more people on the network, and thus put more personal information and interests online. On the Internet, people can follow their whims to add friends. Sometimes, there may be a mutual friend or friends, sometimes-just alumni, sometimes people they simply do not know. It is really hard to ensure that their words will not hurt anyone in their friends list. According to Debatin et al. (2009), there is a false sense of privacy for the student using Facebook accounts. Students have the feeling of anonymity and lack of social responsibility developed by using text-centered telecommunication. These students post embarrassing, denigrating, humiliating and hurtful information through text, videos, and photos. They forget that nothing is private online, particularly on their social network.  Consequently, students have been expelled from schools and colleges for online misconduct. They have been denied acceptance to internship programs as well as jobs. Students as well as their parents have been sued for defamation of character. Suing arises because of the information they post on their Facebook accounts thinking that their accounts are private. They forget the moment they post content they lose control and ownership of that content. It was further found that Facebook usage among high school students negatively affects their academic grade. Additionally, it reduces the time dedicated to part time jobs. Studies indicate that lack of privacy of youth’s personal information on social platforms results to psychological risks. Many of them developed regretful and uncomfortable feelings on realizing that their information is in the wrong hands. In addition, disclosure of information on Facebook results in social risks between parents and youths. Media reports reveal that organizations have been using Facebook to assess candidates and judge them on what they post on their Facebook profiles. Online disclosures on Facebook have negative effects on romantic relationships. Investigative state agencies are also utilizing Facebook information to access personal information thus damaging youths’ privacy. Now, adolescents already have a certain understanding of Facebook, then why do they still continue to put their private information on the Internet? How can they properly use Facebook and protect their privacy at the same time? Today, research, maybe, can give an answer to the public. Sub-questions 1)​ What are the characteristics of Facebook with regard to privacy? Facebook does not meet the standard security factors of ensuring user’s information privacy. Users have no control on who accesses, views, or uses their personal information. 2)​ What was the situation of students’ privacy before Facebook was used popularly? Before Facebook became popular, college students were using a mobile phone, text message, or letters to exchange personal information. So, personal information, at that time, was relatively safe. 3)​ How has privacy been affected by Facebook? Facebook now is very popular on college campuses in the United States, and people already know that personal information posted on Facebook may be stolen. This creates the conditions for misappropriation of personal information infringing privacy. The first sub-question focuses on the characteristics of Facebook. This is the independent variable. As there are two different characteristics of Facebook with regard to privacy. One characteristic is positive affect. Students published their hobbies, marital status, or likes and dislikes on Facebook. These kinds of information can help people makes a lot of new friends on the Internet. But this needs a prerequisite, Facebook is a public information platform and it allows users to publish their information voluntarily. Well, on the other hand, another characteristic is negative. Facebook as an active party recommends other users’ information to other people. Or unfriendly people publish information about a person who they do not like, and let other people see his private information. So, sometimes there will be people getting each other’s information easily, although, they did not deliberately query each other’s information. The second sub-question focuses on the dependent variable: the situations of students’ privacy before Facebook was used popularly. What is Facebooks effect on the situation of students’ privacy? Facebook actively publishes too much students’ information on the Internet, causing troubles in the students’ life, and perhaps even puts the students in a very dangerous situation. Compared with earlier times, before Facebook appeared, each country’s network technology was not very well developed. Facebook was the most basic design in the emergence of the campus site. But at that time, friends on the university campus were using a mobile phone, text message, or letters to exchange personal information. So, personal information, at that time, is relatively safe. People respect each other’s information and do not communicate it through the network. And the students on their own initiative publish all of the information, the situation at that time had one weakness, the circulation of the information was not big. So students did not have to worry that their private information would be open for strangers to see. When there was no network platform such as Facebook there was no way for others to mess with someone’s personal information. At that time there was not much network violence. The third sub-question addresses the college students with a comprehensive understanding of Facebook, including both good and bad effects. Therefore, it focuses on the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable of the target group. Facebook now is very popular on college campuses in the United States, and people already know that personal information posted on Facebook may be stolen. Under such circumstances, how can students control the independent variable? The dependent variable is a result. If people do not put any private information online, then others have no way of misappropriation of information. There is no way to create the conditions for network violence. Hypotheses We believe that in the information age, people are in pursuit of quick research online to find answers. But we also need to protect our personal information on the Internet. Do not become the goal being searched. We are not saying to stop or reduce the student use of Facebook. But students and Facebook Company can try to improve the security of the network. First one, Facebook should not involuntary recommend users’ information. Strangers cannot see each other’s information. Facebook can improve their network system, so students do not have to worry about their private information being found by strangers. After people understand the characteristics of Facebook, both users, and developers with some responsibility for the product, get better and more practical. Try to remove the bad effects, and make Facebook become more and more popular. Before Facebook became so popular, people’s private information did not received a lot of distribution. Information was distributed by people face-to-face, or by means of phone correspondence. So, people had to use those old channels of communication, which are not very advanced. In fact, to make friends or to share their living conditions, the best way is face-to-face communication between people. There are a lot of people that in real life, have no friends. Their friends exist only in the network. Some have a lack of communication with people in daily life, so they gradually become autistic, although they are good in using network language, they have no idea how to make an oral exchange. If people do not rely on Facebook, and often have other ways to communicate, like letters, oral Communication, it perhaps makes for more protection of privacy. After all, a person as an active party, can choose what they want to say or what personal information they want publish. At present, people know that Facebook has brought convenience to people, but also brought some adverse effects. And college students and educated people should know more about what kind of information can be published on the Internet and what information is not suitable to be published on the Internet. Perhaps, colleges can have a lecture on network security, to remind students how to protect themselves in the online world. Methodology Ways of Colleting First-hand Data First-hand data will be generated from a survey of approximately 30 college students (aged 18-23) from Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ. All of them will be asked the same set of questions about how their private information is being utilized from Facebook. The data will be collected through questionnaires, discussions and live interviews with Fairleigh Dickinson University students. Discussions will be held in groups of five students at a time. The analysis of the data collected will be used to make inferences and conclusions. First, we cannot be sure all of these 30 students have a Facebook account. International students, may in order to integrate into the campus environment, may be willing to publish their information on Facebook to find more friends. Two-thirds of people are willing to put their daily information on the Internet, sometimes like writing a diary, or to share their current state with others. When they share their information, they acknowledge their privacy may be infringed on Facebook, but they feel that the information, which they published, will not hurt them. A small portion of people think they just want to chat with their friends in real life. There is one person who has no Facebook account because she thinks that oral communication is the best way to communicate. They do not want others to pay attention to their privacy so they only occasionally use Facebook. Now, as a verbal survey, we divided the students into two groups. One is very dependent for Facebook, they forced themselves to publish all of their information on the Internet. People in another group think there are many other ways to get people to understand them. Some people say a lot of time, they receive Facebook ads or Trojan mail, and it always bores them. Sometime, they press the wrong button and they might be charged. But as a consumer it is hard for us to improve on the network program. Many people say that they often get by strange people asking to be friends and they did not know how others got their information. This is quite normal; the network will often recommend someone you might know or who you might be interested in and ask you to add him or her. Actually, it is very dangerous, because there will be more people that can find your personal information. There are a lot of students who see their photos reproduced and are very happy, because they get more people’s attention. But they are just thinking in a positive way. There are lots of people that are truly concerned about you, care about you, but there may be more people that look at your published information for entertainment. During that time, a student may inadvertently be hurt. All the students say, before Facebook appeared; they had used a variety of chat tools. Personal information at that time seemed to be protected better. And at that time, there were more opportunities to communicate with people face to face. People could find more personal time. But in recent years, the popularity of Facebook might be the main cause that their personal information is no longer restricted. At present, people spend more and more time on the Internet. They are able to meet friends face to face, less and less. Many American students have heard that in China, Facebook is disabled, and they simply do not understand. They have what they think is a very effective dating tool. As university students, when they want to find a new job, they should know the employer could check their Facebook account, so they should take care of what they post. Review of literature Historical review There are two major sources of information on analysis of merits and demerits of Facebook on people’s lives. First is information from observers and investigators. Second is key messages from experts’ analysis. Their analysis of the main function of Facebook vary from entertainment, some think it undermines one’s capacity to communicate effectively, while Will Oremus proposes that Facebook has a special function that divides individual’s privacy into three main categories. Lauren Williams proposes that on Facebook there is never an entirely confidential conversation. In addition, Christopher Spinelli supports the proposition that the entire media never has full privacy. As Jose Hiram and Harvey Jones puts it, the application is already a threat to personal privacy. Since students are a key group of Facebook users, they require to be aware of its advantages and disadvantages, as well as their privacy. The literature that form the basis of our topic can be classified into three categories. (1) Information on the online article which will present Facebook features as an independent variable in my proposed research. (2) Literature on the characteristics of users, and (3) literature on the relationship between Facebook and privacy of users on which basis many researchers have authored books to prove their ideas. The key features of Facebook With social networking taking centre stage in news headlines, everyone focus on the social media. However, the existence, meaning, and features of social platforms are highly arbitrary. Being an active party, Facebook recommends users’ information to other users without the former’s consent. In most cases, the parties involved are not aware of their information being shared by Facebook widely with other users. An interesting conversation between Thompson and his colleagues reveals their view of Facebook as an entertainment platform where people can hide friends as well as philander them (Thompson, 2014). Thompson’s article reveals that even though Facebook has played a critical role in the mainstream media, it still has features of a portal and has no capacity to assure personal privacy to its users. Harkin views the increase of people registering and using Facebook as an indicator that the application has become more practical over time. He points out that Facebook ought to be viewed as a social platform, but not a publishing network, and thus, ought to ensure transparency of information conveyed. This approach is because the application can minimize hypocrisy among its users or friends. Nevertheless, being a regulator, the application itself compels people to feel uncomfortable (2010). There exists numerous people who view Facebook as a special application, if it is a social platform, which implies that there are numerous people who use Facebook daily. Having registers large number of users, Facebook insists on transparency of the information provided by users, making them feel more uncomfortable. The application users have no idea how personal information they provide is collected, used, disseminated, or protected. The users are not able to view the operating steps of the website, and hence, it becomes difficult to believe their personal information’s privacy is protected adequately. In this regard, Will Oremus developed a program named privacy basics, and Facebook introduced it in its settings page (2014). The introduction of a new settings page allows the users to change the privacy of their personal information, posts, as well as profiles. In addition, it allows users to manage their friend lists, unfollow friends, and prevent friends from tagging the user without their latter’s consent. He classifies all these characteristics into three main categories. They include: “what others see about you, how others interact with you, and what you see” (2014). These details express a deeper understanding by Facebook about their need to address privacy of their users’ information. The new approach suggests that Facebook can solve the problem of privacy negligence which most of its users dread. There are three divisions of information that are important. However, Oremus attempts to endorse the new feature to allow people understand Facebook better. However, he also reveals the relationship between Facebook and it users’ daily lives. Facebook collects a wide range of information from its users ranging from location, photos, personal address, as well as credit card numbers for online purchasing on Facebook (2014). As if these details are enough to raise users’ concerns, Oremus goes ahead to reveal more privacy issues. He claims that the data collected by Facebook does not stop when the user leaves Facebook (2004). The author, together with the online article concur that collecting user’s personal information allows provision of a comprehensive personal service. However, this statement makes Facebook users uncomfortable. It represents Facebook as a spy gathering personal information. The information has two perspectives, one is information published by users and second is data mining clicked content, location as well as the information they can uncover users access. Probably, before the users guard people who will misuse their personal information, it is necessary to compel Facebook not to demand and track detailed personal information form users. Characteristics of users Although many studies have revealed to Facebook users that the application cannot assure full privacy of their information, it is critical to find out why many people still register and use Facebook. Most users think that when using Facebook, they will not expose too much personal information to the public online (Boyd, 2008). For instance, most Facebook users publish a lot of details when using Facebook messenger since the information is not published in public. Williams reveals that Facebook has become a data mining centre, where user’s profiles and behaviour are studied in order to generate revenue and improve the application’s services (2014, para.2). In this regard he feels that Facebook does not view its application users as consumers, but as revenue generating tools. In such a situation, there exists a third party who can purchase the users’ personal information which altered the college students’ approach to Facebook. With private messaging becoming increasingly popular, users can share text messages, photos, as well as videos. In regard to the diversity of Facebook, Williams observes that everything users type or say is under watch (2014, para.8). In addition, he affirms that Facebook users are under watch all the time. For instance, users who stay awake late night will receive adverts on sleeping pills. This reveals that Facebook has a better understanding of their users than initially thought. The online article also affirms this observation by stating: “people do not realize what they are putting out there (Williams, para.14).” unfortunately, all Facebook users are not aware of self-protection in regard to their content output. They pay little attention to what they share when chatting (Christofides, Muise & Desmarais 2009). Numerous people use Facebook daily and about 65% of users post their photos online. Besides, about 50% of users publish their job details and birth dates. Comparatively, young people use their actual names, birth dates, interests, and photographs. Experts also reveal that more than 70% of students publish their personal home addresses and school’s name. Although the teenagers may not be too much concerned about the privacy of their personal information, Facebook has already acquired enough useful details. Notably, Facebook is among the biggest global companies and is profit oriented and as well as focused on market competition. Recently, the Facebook made decisions that do not benefit its consumers. As Williams puts it, “Facebook has been similarly ramping up its advertising efforts, also has been strategically positioning itself to join the ranks of Google (para.16&17)”. The company developed programs which the users have no ability to reject unless they stop using this popular social platform. Facebook users will find their friends joining the giant social network while so many third parties have all information about our individual lives. When the college students have to apply for jobs, they now have to worry who have details about their personal lives. Even before conducting an interview, the employer has in his possession interviewee’s personal information acquired from Facebook. Facebook users are not completely in the dark about their information’s privacy. They have deviced new ways of protecting their information. For the users, they are not concerned about the application’s economic details, but they focus on avoiding detection they are online by strangers. Recent Books and Articles about the Relationship between Facebook and Personal Privacy After carrying out a study at MIT, Jones and Solten found out that, “The class of 2009 had an even more pronounced spike at matriculation time, indicating the extraordinary draw of the Facebook (2005, p.15)”. Among the first things freshmen learners is to sign up and open a Facebook account immediately they report. They are then able to join groups of their classmates using an active student email. Indeed, most freshmen students publish a lot of individual confidential details. To assure users of data integrity and privacy, Faceboo0k must make reasonable moves. Even though Facebook fails to clearly reveal their strategy, the users have control over the existence of personal information on the former’s database. Both Jones and Soltren concur, “Security measures include encryption in the transmission and storage of data, use of passwords (2005, p.24).” however, by such standards, the application falls short. Even with numerous users worldwide, Facebook fails to meet standard security factors and hence cannot effectively assure privacy to users. For instances, users cannot prevent strangers from downloading their photographs (Binder, Howes & Sutcliffe 2009). The photos are also free to view to users an indication of lack of effective information protective measures. Although the US constitution have been amended, it cannot keep pace with the fast evolving social networking. Spinelli proposes establishment of trespass rules on social platforms. In her study, she barely came across a Facebook user who was aware of their privacy settings (2010, p.62). In addition, Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University said, “Users should read the document carefully and its terms of service prove otherwise (p.62).” It is only through reading the terms of service document carefully can users choose the best way to protect their privacy. The most intriguing revelation from Cambridge report is that Facebook has never revealed its privacy policy details. With increasing numbers of users, it is likely that advertisers will use the website (p.64). As a result, it emerges that Facebook has frequently revealed user’s information to third parties for its own profit oriented objectives. Consequently, user’s private personal information is exposed to the public. As Kirkpatrick asserts in his famous book about Facebook, one may learn a lot about a friend on Facebook than they learnt in ten years’ offline friendship (2010, p.201). His intended message is that even the information gained through personal interaction with a friend cannot be compared to the information published on Facebook. He states, “When a father in Saudi Arabia caught his daughter interacting with men on Facebook, and he writes in one disturbing account, he killed her (p.210).” Indeed lack standard privacy measures on Facebook can result to undesired happenings in users’ lives. Critical Analysis An analysis of the literature reveals two outstanding weaknesses. First, none of the researchers proposes an approach to solve the real problem of failure of Facebook to implement effective privacy measures. Secondly, the authors are inclined on focusing on the failures of Facebook and fail to appreciate that it is a social platform essential for communication. The solution to the privacy invasion remains with Facebook Company and more than articles is required to resolve the problem reasonably. References Binder, J., Howes, A., & Sutcliffe, A. (2009). The problem of conflicting social spheres: Effects of network structure on experienced tension in social network sites. Proceedings of CHI 2009, Boston: ACM Press, pp. 965–974. Boyd, d. (2008). Facebook’s privacy train wreck: Exposure, invasion and social convergence. Convergence, 14(1), 13–20. Christofides E, Muise A. & Desmarais S. (2010). Privacy and Disclosure on Facebook: Youth and Adults’ Information Disclosure and Perceptions of Privacy Risks. Retrieved from:  https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/Uploads/researchlive/documents/OPC- FinalReport- FacebookPrivacy.pdf Christofides, E., Muise, A., & Desmarais, S. (2009). Information disclosure and control and Facebook: Are they two sides of the same coin or two different processes? Cyber psychology and Behaviour, 12(30), 341–345. Debatin B, Lovejoy J & Hughes B. (2009). Facebook and Online Privacy: Attitudes, Behaviors, and Unintended Consequences. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1083- 6101.2009.01494.x/asset/j.10836101.2009.01494.x.pdf?v=1&t=i63affig&s=ef2bf2fb3 531af4b7d7e0939176551c5587e7f2 Gayle, D. (2013, March 18). Facebook is the worst social network for bullying with 19-year-old BOYS the most common victims. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2294023/Facebook-worst-social- network-bullying-New-survey-shows-youngsters-targeted-online-else.html H., & Soltren, J. (2005, December 14). Facebook: Threats to Privacy. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall05-papers/facebook.pdf Harkin, J. (2010, July 7). The Facebook effect David Kirkpatrick. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/jul/18/the-facebook-effect-david-kirkpatrick-book-review Jones H & Soltren J. (2005). Facebook: Threats to Privacy. Retrieved from http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall05- papers/facebook.pdf Kirkpatrick, D. (2010). Chapter 10: Privacy. In The Facebook effect: The inside story of the company that is connecting the world (p. 384). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster.Jones, Oremus, W. (2014, November 13). Facebook Has a Friendly New Privacy Page. Here’s What It Won’t Tell You. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/13/facebook_privacy_basics_page_what_it_won_t_tell_you_about_perosnal_data.html Please Login OR Register first to make recursive donation. (2014, November 15). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://nobullying.com/the-effects-of-cyber-bullying/ Pogue, D. (2010, July 3). Humanity’s Database. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/books/review/Pogue-t.html?_r=0 Spinelli, C. (2010). Social Media: No "friend" of Personal Privacy. In Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications (Byung Lee ed., p. 129). Elon University. Thompson, D. (2014, February 12). The Facebook Effect on the News. Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/the-facebook-effect-on-the-news/283746/ Trish89. (2013, January 31). Negative Effects of Facebook. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://trish89.hubpages.com/hub/Negative-Effects-of-Facebook Willians, L. (2014, May 8). Why There’s No Such Thing As A Private Facebook Chat. Retrieved March 24, 2015, from http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/05/08/3434294/facebook-chat-privacy/ Appendix Our original research question and sub-questions were “How does Facebook affect college students understanding of privacy protection?” I. What are the characteristics of Facebook with regard to privacy? II. What was the situation of students’ privacy before Facebook was used popularly? III. How has privacy been affected by Facebook? My revised research and sub-questions target a slightly revised independent and dependent variable. It is “how do the articles about Facebook affect college students’ view on the personal privacy problem?” And the following sub-questions: I. What are the characteristics of Facebook? II. What were the characteristics of Facebook users, and the state of their lives? III. What is the relationship between Facebook and personal privacy? I also have experience of how to use Facebook, but after read the research online articles, Facebook not just produced the web applications and their activities also involves people’s pr0ivacy and economic interests. We all know that the networks world not so dangerous like the real world. But because of the high transparency, it’s hard to be adequately protected personal information. I wrote this paper is want to see how the other people think of this security problem, and hope in the future people will be able to get a reasonable solution for this problem. Read More