Teachers and Facebook

I thought that it was interesting how we have just been discussing the issue of privacy with teachers and these on-line “social networks” such as Facebook, and here it is discussed in the newspaper. I am not one who is so fascinated about the past that I have to “investigate” what everyone I once knew is up to. I also do not have a desire to publicize my post high school or collegiate history to everyone from my past nor to those in my present life. Therefore, participating in on-line socializing is not for me. I like the real thing anyway. If I can’t talk to you and hear your voice, words on a screen are just not that real to me. I’d rather communicate face-to-face versus picture-to-picture. Still, it is rather unfortunate for those teachers who do find entertainment in socializing this way that they have to be judged under a different microscope than almost any other professional would be. I guess you can compare it to someone who joins the military and ends up going to war—You knew what you were getting into when you signed up for the job. So I guess we can stop complaining about being treated on a double standard. On one hand, we want that same respect that teachers of the past once received. On the other hand, we want to have the same rights to display our past times as freely as anyone else does. But, we can’t have it both ways. With on-line social networks, there is no privacy. We are publically displayed even if we don’t create it ourselves as we see the case for Mr. Lopes and his mysteriously created Facebook account. This is what has me worried: What if someone creates an account under my name and then displays unmentionables on my behalf, therefore potentially getting me fired for no fault of my own.