The Danger of Social Networking
According to AP story on March 15, a birthday party invitation for this Saturday sent by an Australian teenager to some of her friends had to be canceled when more than 200,000 people RSVP'd after her friends invited others by Facebook and the announcement went viral.
A 15-year-old Sydney girl had wanted her schoolmates to attend, and the post-which included her address-said they could bring friends if they let her know. Jess Cooper, a 10th grade student, posted on her wall a birthday party announcement asking her friends to tell others because she "did not have the time to invite everyone in person."
Within 24 hours Jess was surprised to see that more than 20,000 people had already confirmed their attendance. Just a couple of days later the number had increased to 200,000.
The girl's father said Jess had invited "a few of her Facebook friends" but did not know how to use the privacy settings on Facebook to stop strangers from viewing her party invitation. "She was just anxious about whether anyone would show up to her birthday," he said.
Police said it appeared the girl's original post had been reposted by an "unknown person" and this had gone viral, as they warned of the dangers of advertising parties on social networking sites. "It is a huge number of hits and could potentially turn very serious."
Good thing the party was canceled. Hundreds of uninvited guests could turned up very angry when there aren't enough chips and dip. Technology and social networking are a great tool to keep in touch and connect with friends, there are also the danger of being misused and abused. Teenage suicide have gone up because of cyberbullying. Identity theft is rampant with online information. Some things you post today may just come to bite you later. Just be careful...
Let Paul admonish you with these words, "So then, be very careful how you live (and use your time and facebook). Don't live like foolish people but like wise people." (Eph. 5:15)
A 15-year-old Sydney girl had wanted her schoolmates to attend, and the post-which included her address-said they could bring friends if they let her know. Jess Cooper, a 10th grade student, posted on her wall a birthday party announcement asking her friends to tell others because she "did not have the time to invite everyone in person."
Within 24 hours Jess was surprised to see that more than 20,000 people had already confirmed their attendance. Just a couple of days later the number had increased to 200,000.
The girl's father said Jess had invited "a few of her Facebook friends" but did not know how to use the privacy settings on Facebook to stop strangers from viewing her party invitation. "She was just anxious about whether anyone would show up to her birthday," he said.
Police said it appeared the girl's original post had been reposted by an "unknown person" and this had gone viral, as they warned of the dangers of advertising parties on social networking sites. "It is a huge number of hits and could potentially turn very serious."
Good thing the party was canceled. Hundreds of uninvited guests could turned up very angry when there aren't enough chips and dip. Technology and social networking are a great tool to keep in touch and connect with friends, there are also the danger of being misused and abused. Teenage suicide have gone up because of cyberbullying. Identity theft is rampant with online information. Some things you post today may just come to bite you later. Just be careful...
Let Paul admonish you with these words, "So then, be very careful how you live (and use your time and facebook). Don't live like foolish people but like wise people." (Eph. 5:15)