Facebook is a free social network that connects individuals all over the world. This online utility has quickly busted into a form of mainstream communication for people of all ages. Facebook is used to connect with people who we may or may not already know. According to their website, Facebook was founded February 4, 2004; therefore, it has only existed slightly over five years. This source of communication has exploded into more than just a way to keep up with friends and family. I have seen Facebook consume the lives of individuals around me. This social networking website, like many others, has both positive and negative implications associated with it.

A Harvard University student founded Facebook to connect students at his campus. It quickly spread to other campuses. When joining Facebook, you become a part of a “network” based on school, region, city, or workplace. The first issue that I would like to address about Facebook, is the age of the users involved. This social network requires you to be 13-years or older to become a member. Beyond this stipulation, anyone can join. Now I must admit that I am not an avid Facebook user myself, but I do have a profile and I occasionally get on to see what my “friends” are up to. However, recently I have started seriously considering who else can see my information and what they perceive my personal identity as. I was not fond of Facebook opening up to high school students a couple years ago. I quickly decided that I would not add any friends who were not of college age and I would block my information from high school networks. I felt that that it was not necessary for students younger than me to have access to my college life. I could just imagine a high school student sitting on Facebook looking at my profile when an old teacher of mine walked by and saw it. Then I ask myself what the true reason is for blocking high school students from my page and I realize that it is because I am conveying conventional signals. There are pictures and comments on my Facebook page that I do not possess the trait of what they display to public. I would not want someone learning about me and my lifestyle strictly through Facebook. Individuals have information, pictures and posts that are connected to their personal Facebook profile. We often forget that each of these forms of communication is creating a type of identity for you. An application of Facebook includes the ability to post comments, pictures and videos to a users wall so that everyone can see it. This can cause many problems. If one user tags an inappropriate picture to another user, the picture is attached to their profile. They are automatically receiving an identity that isn’t theirs. This is a big concern with identity and Facebook.