The internet is a very interesting part of popular culture. The part of the internet that interests me the most is Facebook. This is one aspect of the internet that has become very popular of late. The number of people that are creating Facebook pages and re-establishing lost connections from their past is growing every day. CNN.com states that Facebook is growing by 5 million users per week. (Hempel, 2009) People create Facebook pages by posting their personal information on a website. People can then search this website to locate people. When you post your information to this website your information can be public or private. If your information is private then people can only see your picture and your name. Your information can be private and you can grant access to certain individuals.
Facebook has changed the way that people communicate. Instead of e-mail or texting an event in your life to many different people you can post it on your Facebook and your friends can read about it there. Facebook also allows you to locate people based on interests or locations. This has changed the way that people meet new people. According to CNN.com Facebook reached 175 million users in February 2009. (Hempel, 2009) These changes are not all beneficial.
People must realize that when you post your personal information on the internet it can end up in the wrong hands and probably will. Many hackers use websites such a Facebook to obtain peoples personal information. These hackers can steal your identity or sell your personal information to others. This new found hobby comes with a great deal of responsibility and one should not enter into it lightly. People have been fired from their jobs for things that they posted on their Facebook page. Many companies have started searching Facebook pages when looking for new employees because they can learn a great deal about someone from their Facebook page.
Internet sites such as Facebook have changed the way we communicate permanently. Therefore, Facebook is an excellent example of popular culture. The popularity of these types of websites is growing every day. People must remember to be careful because anything in print on the internet can be read by anyone.














References
Hempel, J. (2009, February 17). How Facebook is taking over our lives. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from cnnMoney.com: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/technology/hempel_facebook.fortune/index.htm