<p>ephiphany: Most kids on Facebook let anyone in their network see their profile. Yes you need an account, but anyone can get an account now. There are “networks” for geographic areas, like “San Francisco” or “Philadelphia.” Pretty much anyone can join those, and some kids join their local geographic networks, which means that unless they set privacy levels, anyone could see their facebook.</p>
<p>I think it would be tough for college admissions officers to see a HS student’s facebook, since most kids belong to a limited network. However, it is easier for employers to see college students’ facebooks, since there are often staff members who went to their college. An employee who went to NYU might be asked to look at the facebook of an applicant from NYU, for example. </p>
<p>Anyone with a facebook account can see the thumbnail profile pictures. I’ve seen people whose thumbnail pictures are inappropriate (like a coworker who posed in her underwear – I was shown this by another coworker, and none of us quite knew what to do about it).</p>
<p>Someone who is determined can use a combination of Facebook and MySpace to find more about someone. Most people don’t use their full names on MySpace, but if they have both, and use the same profile picture, then it’s easier to identify them. </p>
<p>Back when I was in college, a handful of people would sit around Sunday morning and boast or moan about how drunk they got Saturday night. Now, students seem determined to let thousands of people know their escapades, with pictures. I don’t get it.</p>
<p>“Thanks for the reply, alwaysamom. However, your first paragraph would still seem to imply that students may block strangers like admissions folks from viewing their page, & that perhaps those whose pages have been viewed unwillingly have not bothered to safeguard that viewing or identity?”</p>
<p>Epiphany, yes, you’re right. That is exactly what I was saying. There are methods of privacy available. Whether or not a student chooses to use them is another issue, but, in my experience from what I’ve heard from my own kids, most kids do. And yes, you do need an account to conduct a search but getting an account is possible for anyone now.</p>
<p>thats not true. not everyone can view the thumb nail pic. im a student with a facebook and i have blocked that feature as well as all others allowing anyone besides people from my school to find me.</p>
Not true for most kids I know, who give access only to “friends” that have to be confirmed. I have my own account (which I could create as a faculty member). My kids won’t give me on-line access to their pages, although I do occasionally ask to see them. Their “friends” profiles are usually not accessible either.</p>
<p>The thumb-nail pics, however, are usually visible (altho they can be blocked). I sometimes browse my kids’ friends lists (and now my D’s college class). I actually find these by far benign and often creative. This generation has unprecedented access to digital imagery and they are very adept at using it. Its not all drunk kids holding beer cans.</p>
<p>BTW, both D’s have discontinued their Myspace accounts.</p>