Facebook is the devil

Facebook is the devil.

1. Find someone you know with a profile and explore it with him or her. Ask him or her about his or her experiences with the tool. Did your conversation change your thinking about the application?

My wife uses it. There is a running joke in our house about my disdain for it, so, no, nothing has changed about my thinking regarding the application.

2. Explain why you have chosen not to create a Facebook profile. How did you reach this decision? What implications does it have for your ability to learn about this application as both a traveler and an educator?

My experiences with Facebook have been wholly negative. If somebody could show me some examples where students have used it in a positive manner rather than to degrade, harrass and annoy one another it would be a first.

Creating a profile and learning about the application are not the same thing. I am not concerned about the implications for myself as an educator until such time as having a profile is necessary in some professional capacity. I am not holding my breath.

3. Reflect on the following questions:

• If you are either an avid or a first time user, what surprised or continues to surprise you about the experience?

What surprises me is how foolish people are about sharing details of their personal lives in an application riddled with privacy land-mines. I am astonished in particular at the pictures people will post. The prospect of some e-pervert trolling through family photos of my children is less than thrilling.

• What potential can you see in social networks for education?

It might have limited use as a means of communication among students involved in particular projects or co-curricular clubs/activities, though frankly a wiki provides a much better platform for this purpose.

Mostly it is used as a place for students to post compromising photos of one another and indulge their penchant for the tiresome "you suck; no, you suck" adolescent dialogue.

I will pass over in silence the hazard it poses to young teaching staff who are not careful about its use in their personal lives (particularly with respect to boundary-setting with students).

• What are some of the potential concerns?

See above -- students mostly use it for interactions that are inappropriate in a school setting.

• Did/does using the application alleviate those concerns or exacerbate them?

Ten thousand times NO!

• Will you continue to use Facebook after our tour is over? Why or why not?

Didn't use it before; won't use it after. Do I really need to belabour the point? I am fortunate that it does not have any currency in my social circle.

• Would you answer these questions differently if you were discussing your child's or parent's profile? Why or why not?

There is exactly zero chance that either of my parents would ever have a Facebook profile. Right now my kids are too young for one, but you can bet that the hazards of Facebook and its progeny will be drummed into them.

Look, if you really need to use social networking, use one with a professional purpose like LinkedIn.

Facebook is, and remains, the devil.