Ask any college or high school student worth his salt which social networking website he/she uses, and I guarantee that person will answer either Myspace or Facebook.

It's interesting, as a college student, to see how socialization has changed even since I was a freshman in high school. The amount of information you can know about someone who goes to your school--even if you've never talked to them in your life--is amazing...and kinda creepy. Just by viewing their Facebook or Myspace profile, you can have access to photos, comments and all manner of personal information that, in the "olden days" of the early 2000's, you used to have to ask people about instead.

Someone's religion, relationship status, their current activities, friends, family, "free gifts," parties they went to, people they hang out with...you can know dozens and dozens of things about someone without even saying "hi" to them in real life.

Being at an Adventist college adds a whole new element to the social networking idea. Without the anonymity of a large university, and because of CUC's status as a Seventh-day Adventist school, I find myself cautioning my peers against posting anything they wouldn't want their parents or teachers to see, because face it. Everyone has a Facebook now. My professors and my parents and much of my extended family have Facebook profiles. Colleges are now checking on social networking sites like Myspace to see what applicants to their institutions are up to the summer before their first year of college. Wild parties? Underage drinking? A different guy or girl on your arm in every photo? Putting all that kind of stuff out into the world will only lead to regret and drama.

Partying and those kind of things might be "cool" for your friends to see, but I guarantee that it is definitely not a good idea to share them with the world via Facebook or Myspace. For my fellow CUC students, it's always better to make good choices than bad ones, bottom line. But if you do happen to make a mistake, don't advertise it. Be more mature than that. It might get you into more trouble than you bargained for, with your parents or with your school.

I think that most CUC students are pretty responsible when it comes to issues like this, but like I said before, it never hurts to repeat yourself...especially when it means talking about things like your schooling, family relationships and your education. Facebook and Myspace may be great tools, but they can also add a lot of problems to your life if you aren't mature and responsible.

Hope everyone has a great week! Talk to you tomorrow.

Labels: Jaclyn Wile, student blog