"ok, educate me, please: how in the HECK would one "facebook stalk" a person?" -Sandy
For those of you who do not know, "Facebook" is a social networking site. On this site, you can post pictures, communicate with other people, update where you are and what you are doing, etc. Most people use this to stay in touch with friends, plan events, and keep their pictures online. Whenever you update something (unless you choose to change it in the privacy setting), facebook informs all of your friends that something has changed such as "Sam is now listed as in a relationship."
This is a new format of facebook that was instituted months ago. It is known as "Stalker Facebook." Not to be confused with Facebook stalking, which is when somebody who knows you (or might not for that matter) gets on your page and begins to learn all they can about you. Friends of a girlfriend get on your site and let you know they are "keeping an eye on you." You get to a wedding your girlfriend is in, and as the bridesmaids/matrons are looking out trying to find you, not your girlfriend, but someone you've never met (but who knows you from facebook) says "I think he's right there in the back." And she is right. This is the relatively harmless method of facebook stalking. There is a much scarier form where people really do use it to obsess over and stalk people (at least I would assume).
Facebook is a dangerous mistress for people who need to know what's going on with everybody. It's really quite funny to see how much people relate through this site. One friend (of Amber's) I met this weekend was even joking about it. "Now that I've met you it will be so much more fun to follow you on facebook." She then mimicked as if she were reading a screen as if it were a story about my life, and said "uh huh, uh huh." This was actually quite funny, and not really scary at all because as I've said previously, this is harmless facebook stalking.
There's a whole new universe out here, and it's called the internet (best read in George Bush Voice). We've gotta fight them there, so we don't have to fight them here.
4 comments:
Hilarious!
you crack me up!!! btw who said it will be better to keep up with you now that they have met you? gotta love the world wide web!!!
that would be Kristi. Both of those stories were about Kristi (sp?)
So now the secret is out that your mother who is ALWAYS too serious has supplied you with some of your best comedic fodder over the years...
So I get that Facebook kind of takes the place of the old fashioned gossip and cocktail parties, but I want to know - does it count as stalking if the person posts a comment to said blog occasionally, and they're not just lurking, I mean looking for info?
Another question for all you young'uns: Do you think face-to- face social skills and relationships have suffered as a result of all this readily available personal info? I keep hearing murmurs and intimations of that theory coming from people (mostly, older, I assume), but I tend to think that it's more a different way of relating, and not necessarily a negative. Perhaps preserving authenticity in relationship is the real concern.
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