Teachers and Facebook

Facebook. Yes if you don't know what that is you are just not even American. Either that or you are over the age of 70. This universal tool for "keeping in touch" with old friends, and "sharing knowledge" with other people via internet has become a worldwide phenomenon. It definitely has its upsides I mean the first thing I do when I come home from school is hop and facebook and see how many notifications I have accumulated throughout the day. I also love to see if anyone has posted any photos in which case I will take the time to flip through every single one even if I dont know the person that well. Thats another thing, Facebook has brought a whole new meaning to stalking. The term Facebook stalking is just a phrase laughed at by many but it is true with Facebook creeping on people has become even more easy! I mean yeah you have to accept someone for them to be able to view your wall (if you have the right privacy settings) but it is easy to look at people you know profile anytime you want without them knowing. You get to hide behind a computer. Facebook although very handy and fun has its dark side too. It has made online harrassment much easier. With applications like Honesty Box it has made bullying anonymously easy and very convenient. People can say whatever they want without anyone knowing. Also studies have shown that it can help with depression. I was reading an article in a magazine that said over 50% of teenage girls who look at photos of people doing things without them on facebook makes them sad. So why do it? You ask. Just ignore it on your home feed. But if you are a true facebooker you understand how difficult that is. Facebook is a fun tool to talk and gossip with your friends but it is also dangerous sometimes too. There are other problems surrounding facebook. The one this blog is titled about. Facebook and teachers. At first I felt as though facebook was only for teenagers people in highschool through college. I didnt think that adults woould get as into it as students would but it has surprised me to see more and more, parents, aunts, uncles, and even teachers joining facebook. Im not going to say that I dont think adults should have facebooks because its America and its a free country. I get that, but I feel like facebook should be seperated into adults, and students. I know this is a far fetched attempt but how would you feel if your mother got a facebook and could see every wall conversation you had with your friends, every picture you were tagged in! Everything! I know what your saying you can just ignore your moms friend request but you try telling your mom you arent going to be her friend on facebook and see how that goes :p haha But the question I want to know is should teachers be friends with their students on facebook? Does this cross any teacher student relation lines that shouldnt be crossed? Whats the worst that could happen right? Well I feel as if facebook is a safe haven to write on your friends walls anything you are feeling, but if you know there is the potential that a teacher could be seeing what you write it doesnt seem so safe anymore. This could also be another reason to not write anything on facebook you dont want repeated. After all it is the internet and there is such a thing as copy paste. But I have heard about teachers talking to students on facebook chat and stuff and i dont know about you but that just sounds kind of creepy to me. Some teachers are adament about not accepting their students as friends until they graduate highschool which i think is a good policy. Either way there are a lot of controversies surrounding facebook but in the end we all love it :) Haha

~Mildred