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New Facebook timeline reveals unpleasant blasts from the past

As young adults, we are all familiar of how important it is to listen to our folks. Well, it is important to listen to your uncles too. I have relatives scattered across the East Coast, and we engage in much online communication via email. I received a subtle warning from my Uncle Meyer regarding “Facebook Timeline”, a recently developed Facebook application, allowing for Facebook users to uncover past posts, photographs, etc. I read the newspaper article he forwarded to me that discussed possibly negative implications brought about by this new Facebook design as well as his comments, and realized Timeline probably wasn’t that cool.

Most of us college-aged Facebook users have probably shared a few impolite (to say the least) messages on our profiles in the last five years or so, or whenever we first created our online identities. Whether or not this was a way for Facebook to imply that we clean up our acts is unclear. We should be aware, however, of how to keep our reputations unsoiled despite the possibly harmful ramifications.

According to an article I found on PC World entitled, “Facebook Timeline Privacy Tips: Lockdown Your Profile,” Sarah Jacobsson Purewal describes how to make your Timeline private. “The first step to Facebook privacy is making your profile, or Timeline, private. To do this, go to Privacy Settings>How You Connect and change the settings…” Change all your settings from “Public” to “Friends.”

She also recommends changing the visibility of past posts. To be safe, users can hide past posts by clicking in the upper right corner of each highlighted post, photograph, etc. The option to hide activity from the timeline will then show. I suggest hiding all obscenities from view…(if you ever want to find a decent job).

So, why do you think the Facebook Timeline was created? Was it just a way to dip our fingers into the pasts of our friends or even our own past? Is it just a coincidence that probably 80 percent of Facebook users don’t wish for that to be an option?

I will admit, it is nice to be able to remember the good old days and think fondly of past memories, but is it absolutely necessary to be able to access every piece of shared information on Facebook? I think it’s almost detrimental. Digging around past Facebook activity and seeing relationship statuses go from ‘In a relationship’ to ‘single’ usually makes me bitter anyway.

Is it a way for us to be controlled online? After all, quite a bit of damage was done to the Egyptian government via Facebook when the network served as a channel for the communication of youths in an effort to liberate Egyptian society. Is it possible that governments are becoming more wary of this multi-billion dollar business, which connects millions and millions of people?

Simply having the notion that Timeline exists and due to that fact, our past indecencies could potentially come back to haunt us. Knowing this application is working on my active profile brings up suspicion and disappointment. I do not wish to be controlled. I do not wish to be looked at with a magnifying glass. And I certainly do not want to be reminded of my past mistakes. Is anyone available to teach me to use Twitter?

Rebecca Eisenberg is a senior philosophy major and contributing writer for the Daily 49er.


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