How private are your settings on Facebook, MySpace, and any other social networking site? Can people in your network only see your tagged pictures? Or can all of your friends see your pictures and other biographical info? Why would you post online where you are of every minute of every day? Do you want people to know everything about you, so that there is nothing left for anyone to discover?
These questions ponder my mind as I write this article about privacy and security online. In Greek Life, most organizations stalk out their potential new members on Facebook, and other websites. They meet them the first time during a Meet the Greeks session, and after they get their names and emails, they stalk them out on Facebook, finding out all the information they can about them. They see their pictures, all the people they associate with, and if any other organizations are friends with them. It’s all about territory after this point; once an organization approaches a new member, the other organizations fight for that new member, trying everything to get that individual to pledge for them. Some things they say or do to lure out their individual is buy that individual and his friends alcohol, invite them out to parties that they throw, and mixers. They ask them to come hang out, watch T.V., go shopping, become the best of friends ever.
And the entire time, this new individual is thinking that he/she is finally making cool friends in college. Students, who are older than them, know what is right and wrong, know the best places to hang out and a great way to network and meet new people.
And so they get comfortable with these people, and decide to pledge their allegiance to this fraternity or sorority. They go through a process, lasting weeks, and they finally cross into the brotherhood or sisterhood. After a semester of partying, getting to know more brothers and sisters from out-of-state schools, and feeling that you finally have found that place in college that you can call your home and that you’ve met the people who you can call your family, the process begins all over again. Except, this time you’re on the other side, acting as a witness and a facilitator to get more new members for your organization. You discover the methods they use to attract these potential new members. They are the same methods they used on you when you were rushing. You see how you are encouraged to stalk them on Facebook, and find out as much as you can about them. You begin to question your motives and your allegiance to the organization. You begin to wonder if everything was a lie or if it was all fake? Did they just recruit you for numbers?
Now you find yourself doing the same thing to other new potential members, and you discover along the way that not everything is fake. You begin to like them as a friend, even share common interests, and getting them to join your fraternity or sorority becomes simply only the half of it.
By declaring your allegiance, you become united under one goal, under one title, and if you like to associate yourself with these people in the organization, then pledging your allegiance isn’t always necessary because if they stop hanging out with you, or stop trusting you after you have turned away from them, then you know now that they were never your real friends to begin with.
I think it's interesting that you bring up the fact that Facebook stalking is encouraged. This is not unlike what employers do when hiring potential employees-- it really lets you in on the real person, their interests, and things that you wouldn't know by meeting them face to face. While it is useful in scoping out information, is it really better than getting to know the person and letting them open up to you? At the same time, the information is already "out there" so there isn't much violation of privacy going on. I like how you looked at both sides of the topic.
ReplyDelete