by Khalics Bryant
Horizon Reporter
We all know what Facebook is supposed to be for. People of all ages, races, and social standing use the social networking website for a laundry list of different reasons: including, but not limited to, staying in touch with friends and family, meeting new people, and sharing photos. What some don’t seem to understand about the Internet is that ANYONE CAN ACCESS IT… and by anyone I mean people such as your mother, your boss, the police… ANYONE.
Jonathan Parker, a 21-year-old Pennsylvania man, was arrested in September 2009 for breaking into a house and making off with two diamond rings. How was he caught you ask? Well apparently during the burglary Jon-Jon felt the overwhelming need to check his Facebook page. Not having a laptop or smartphone with him, this genius decided it would be okay to check Facebook on the computer in the house that he was burglarizing. Now that in itself is stupid but what’s worse is the fact that Johnny-boy forgot to logout…Hilarious…
One of the saddest (but funniest) things to witness on Facebook is the dreaded break-up. Couples post personal information forgetting that the Facebook newsfeed delivers a “play by play” breakdown of the break-up from start to finish. It’s typical to see someone’s status change from “in a relationship” on Monday to “single” by the end of week.
Getting arrested because of Facebook happens more often then you think. Often it seems criminals forget that crime is illegal and shouldn’t be posted for the world to see. From the story of Shannon Jackson who was arrested for violating a restraining order by poking a Facebook friend she was ordered not to contact. To the tale of Mr. Mark Musarella an EMS worker who posted photos of a victim after she was beaten and strangled. There are stories all over the web about criminals that don’t have enough common sense to cover up a crime.
Now I don’t want anyone to read this and think I am on the side of the criminals, because I’m not. I’m a saint, I don’t even steal cable or jay walk. But I can’t just sit back and watch people do stupid stuff and not comment. So if there is anyone out there at Whatcom Community College that is thinking about doing something illegal, please post it on Facebook. I need something to write about…
This is so true, inspiring and equally hilarious. I think that, although never to be acted upon, that FB should not allow status updates. It’s what newest social scene “twitter” is for. Updating the other details, the constants, is what Facebook is all about. Where we live, what our interests our etc.
Excellent piece Kareem 🙂
Facebook used to be for checking up on friends.. it seems now it jolted everybody into everybody’s business.. yuck.
Nice job Khalics! …how true is this in todays world?! 🙂