Trinity Mount Barker

I love Facebook.
I love Twitter.
I love Facebook and Twitter on my iPhone no matter where I am in the world (almost)! But I'm a little worried. To tell you the truth, I'm a lot worried. I'm worried about what's going to happen to a whole generation of young people when Facebook catches up with them. If you're under 20, you're a member of the iGeneration, who along with us GenXers could also be called the Facebook Generation.

If you use Facebook, I wonder how much thought you've given to what impact the information you post on your profile and on other people's walls will have on you later in life. Remember last week when Facebook asked you "What's on your mind?" and you wrote that funny comment (or so it seemed at the time)? Just because that comment has slipped off the bottom of your wall, doesn't mean that it's gone forever. In fact, it almost certainly hasn't. Think also of your comments on other people's walls or photos; even if you close your Facebook account and formally request Facebook to delete your information, these comments will remain, since they are information that you have "shared with third parties."

And here's the issue - what seemed like a smart comment or a funny photo last week, or when you were 15, or 18 or when you'd just come back from that great camp or that big night out will look entirely different to a potential employer, or to your family (or even future in-laws). An even greater question exists for Christians who use social networking sites - how does my holy life extend into this sphere? What words are appropriate? What sort of speech or activity is inappropriate?

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