'Is Facebook a virtual tattoo?' blog discussion

luvvlyjubbly · 16 February 2010 at 1:31AM

God I wish it was around in my teens, cos I can't remember half of it!!!!!

oakhouse13 · 16 February 2010 at 7:37AM

Since Facebook is well on the way to everyone taking part virtually, why will you be at a disadvantage because everyone's identity will be online. It will become odd not to have an online profile.

Not saying that is a good thing but I can't see younger people giving social media up.

beaujolais-nouveau · 16 February 2010 at 11:48AM

I am in my late fifties and very thankful that Internet social networking sites didn't exist when I was young and mixed up. Being on Facebook, posting personal stuff to the web (the Internet is forever, people), is - contradictory as it sounds - like living in a very small village (even if in the real world you live in the blessed anonymity of a city): thanks to your Facebook, personal blog, whatever, there will always be people who remember and can remind you of a moment of drunken stupidity, fiscal recklessness, an enraged indiscretion, a bad decision made in panic, a disastrous infatuation, needy whining, or the rantings of grief or transient mental illness. Or even use it against you, exploit or pressure you, and prevent you moving on, growing through life crises and other experiences, to a more evolved and peaceful and mature state of mind.

Facebook-type fora infantilise people. The pendulum will swing back eventually, and people will rediscover how much easier it is to breathe in the wide open spaces of discretion, the freedom and choices made possible by inhibition (not putting it all in the "window").

I look at my young relatives' postings on the web (Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, etc) and worry about their vulnerability.

System · 16 February 2010 at 2:51PM

I don't have a facebook account, and I wish that others could not post pictures of you without your knowledge for others to see on an online site..

20000RPM · 16 February 2010 at 4:02PM

Maybe in the future people will be less judgmental and reactionary... oh, wait. They won't.

blackribbongirl · 16 February 2010 at 5:28PM

I think everyone worries far too much.

vangirl_2 · 16 February 2010 at 9:14PM

The internet doesnt store data indefinately, unless you keep it going. It gets deleted.

The argument that our kids will be able to google our misspent youths is a non-starter, I didnt run upstairs and get my mum's drunken party photos out every time she told me not to drink!

Unless you murder someone you dont have much to worry about, unfortunately we are not that important to be immortalised on t'internet. As for people not getting jobs because of stupid photos they posted on facebook, thats just natural selection. If you spent your younger years off your face on drink and drugs and thought it a good idea to share this with the rest of the world maybe you shouldnt be running the country.

wildthing01 · 16 February 2010 at 9:43PM

vangirl wrote: »

Unless you murder someone you dont have much to worry about, unfortunately we are not that important to be immortalised on t'internet. As for people not getting jobs because of stupid photos they posted on facebook, thats just natural selection. If you spent your younger years off your face on drink and drugs and thought it a good idea to share this with the rest of the world maybe you shouldnt be running the country.

the prob with facebook etc is that it is often not your choice what gets shared with the rest of the world. i know many hard-working, intelligent, responsible people who did silly drunken things in their teens/early twenties (myself included), and i don't think that should disqualify them for doing the jobs they do now. luckily, when we were young(er), and camera phones/digital cameras didn't really exist (god that makes me sound old - i'm not really!) the worst that would happen was people would spread rumours about your behaviour, which you could always deny!!

now, people can post photos of you doing it on facebook, and name you, for anyone to see, and you have no control over it.

vangirl_2 · 16 February 2010 at 10:05PM

If someone else posts a picture of you they have to digitally tag it with your name to make it searchable, which they probably wont do, kids arent stupid, they dont want there parents to see photos of them now never mind in the future.

Anyway even if the photos are still around in 10 years, which is unlikely, are potential employers really going to be that bothered about them or take the time to do it? Surley common sense would come into play and if there is a bad profile for you maybe its wise for them to take it into consideration, after all we are still the same person as we were in our teens, just a little older and hopefully wiser.

JDPower · 16 February 2010 at 10:51PM

wildthing01 wrote: »

now, people can post photos of you doing it on facebook, and name you, for anyone to see, and you have no control over it.

Then don't do things you'll be ashamed of, generally a good rule to live by

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'Is Facebook a virtual tattoo?' blog discussion

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