I am a Facebook user, but I wasn't always into the whole social networking thing. I joined Facebook shortly after high school to keep in contact with friends. When I graduated, my friends and I were all choosing different paths for our lives. I had friends going all over the United States, and the world. Some headed for schools out of state, some joined active duty military, and some stayed in Ohio but weren't attending Wright State. It can be depressing coming to the realization that your best friends and people you've known since elementary school are not going to be in your life as much, if at all. Facebook is a great way to still be connected and I'm glad I joined.

The biggest reason I joined was because of my best friends. In high school, all of us knew we were going military. Three joined the Air Force, one the Marines, one the Army, and two (including myself) Air Force ROTC. Out of that, two are currently deployed in Afghanistan and one is in Japan. Being deployed you can't text your friends whenever you want, however you can get internet access a few times a month. Facebook has allowed me to keep in contact with them halfway around the world. It's good to know how they're doing and what things are like over there.

I believe people in general aren't becoming addicted, but there are those who probably couldn't live without it. I know a few people who will check their Facebook every single hour, and sometimes more. I personally don't see why but whatever floats your boat. I currently have 279 friends on Facebook. I've known all of them at some point or another in my life (except for the business friends such as BW3s and W.O. Wrights) and it's cool to see what everyone's been up too since school. I'm never cautious about what I put on my page simply because I'm not worried about repercussions from being myself.

I see no issues with employers searching a potential employees Facebook page. Their job is to hire who they feel is best suited for the job. Facebook is just one more source of information to get a general idea of who you are.

Risks with Facebook generally come with negligence. If your profile is set to private and your friends list only contains people you know, I think it's a very low risk. If these two things don't apply to you, you're putting personal information and photos out there for anyone to see. In a technologically advanced society like the U.S., you have to be careful more than ever. It is very easy for someone to stalk, impersonate, etc, under these conditions.

I think Facebook is also a great way for businesses to advertise. It's free and it targets a wide range of people all over. It also allows companies to interact more on a personal level with their customers. This is can be very helpful for both parties. The business can receive feedback and suggestions while the consumer gets awareness of promotions and changes. It's a win win for both sides.