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Facebook expansion comes at a price

06-29-2008

ALBANY, N.Y. — Once the exclusive domain of college students, Facebook is getting bigger — and more mature.

Since opening to anyone older than 13 in September 2006, the social networking site says it has grown to include more than 70 million users today, more than half of whom are outside of college, and its fastest-growing demographic is people 25 or older.

For Facebook users in college, this means they can be interacting with more than just their fellow students, but also with professors, parents, potential employers, advertisers and, well, creepy strangers.

"But now that everybody can be on it, there are higher instances of people being stalked and having others outside of the students' network getting information about them that they do not think of making private," said Heath Rossner, a College of Saint Rose residential life faculty member.

Facebook launched on Feb. 4, 2004, allowing students to stay in touch online. As the site developed, it added features such as photos, message walls, news feeds and mini-feeds, which give users updates on what their friends are doing.

"I am absolutely horrified at the fact that a future employer of mine could see my page," said SUNY Albany student Becky Weiner. "It makes me want to re-evaluate everything I post: pictures, comments, even updating my status. Am I going to have to make my Facebook look more professional now? If I decide to delete my Facebook, am I going to have to worry about what sorts of things I've posted in the past have remained in a database?"

The College of Saint Rose's Rossner said parents sometimes screen potential roommates for their children by looking at their Facebook profiles. "Sometimes you can't get past a picture and you judge too quickly," Rossner said. "The less interaction, the more you add, and the more judging occurs."

SUNY Albany communications professor Jennifer Stromer-Gally, however, thinks the growth of Facebook is a good thing because it can put students in touch with people outside their familiar groups.

Despite all these changes, few students interviewed said they would stop or cut down on their use of Facebook.

Kevin Flynn, at The College of Saint Rose, said, "I just haven't had enough of it yet."

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