05-23-2012, 02:07 PM
Facebook, like many social media platforms, has become an intersection of the private and public sphere. The overlaps show. Employers are looking through facebook accounts to judge potential hires. I don't know if schools do the same for applicants, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
It's caused a lot of conflict as well. Here in Manila, there was a recent case where two girls were barred from their graduation march for posting pictures of themselves wearing bikinis on facebook (it was kind of bullshit, and a legal court overruled the school's decision). Several months ago a NJ schoolteacher was penalized for her anti-gay rant on Facebook, complaining about LGBT History Month being acknowledged in the high school she worked in, saying it was akin to parading "unnatural, immoral behavior before the rest of us."
I guess the safest thing would be to assume that all social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to be a legitimate publishing platform no matter how "private" they seem. Would that mean anything you publish online is fair game? (Like, would a stupid gossipy tweet about a celebrity be considered libelous?) Is there even a line between Facebook behavior and "real" behavior anymore?
It's caused a lot of conflict as well. Here in Manila, there was a recent case where two girls were barred from their graduation march for posting pictures of themselves wearing bikinis on facebook (it was kind of bullshit, and a legal court overruled the school's decision). Several months ago a NJ schoolteacher was penalized for her anti-gay rant on Facebook, complaining about LGBT History Month being acknowledged in the high school she worked in, saying it was akin to parading "unnatural, immoral behavior before the rest of us."
I guess the safest thing would be to assume that all social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to be a legitimate publishing platform no matter how "private" they seem. Would that mean anything you publish online is fair game? (Like, would a stupid gossipy tweet about a celebrity be considered libelous?) Is there even a line between Facebook behavior and "real" behavior anymore?
PS. If you can, try your hand at giving some of the others a bit of feedback. If you already have, thanks, can you do some more?