When students enter the computer labs on campus, they will notice a sign on the door. No, it isn't the "turn off your cell phone" sign. This one is bigger and brighter. This neon sign states in bold letters: "NO MYSPACE, FACEBOOK OR GAMES WHILE OTHER PEOPLE ARE WAITING."
This sign is common on college campuses everywhere. But recent issues dealing with these popular online social networks suggest that they are more than just games and entertainment. They can be used by potential employers and by sexual predators, as well as those seeking extra-marital affairs.
"Most people just think it's a way to network with their friends," said Dr. Paul Neal, psychologist at the Christian Psychology Center. "They don't realize it's that public. It's almost an open invitation for predators."
Neal is not alone in his concern for online social networking safety but according to him, there needs to be more awareness on the issue.
"We encourage parents to review their kid's profile," he said. "My daughter's in college. I look at her profile and make sure it's acceptable."
It's hard for anyone to deny the relevance of these online social networks. According to the latest statistics, Myspace.com is the third-most visited overall Web site behind Google and Yahoo. Facebook.com ranks number 12, possibly because until recently, it required an .edu e-mail address to register. Myspace, with 127 million users, is open for anyone to join at no cost.
As the popularity of this electronic world grows, the dangers grow with it. The digital problems in this fake world have turned to real problems in the real world. Just like the tangible world of reality, these problems range from addiction and adultery to even criminal detainment for threats against President Bush.
"Everybody believes it's all fantasy," said Neal. "Unfortunately this illusion of fantasy has ruined tons of marriages."
Aaron S. Ayers, a divorce lawyer in Memphis, said that these networks are "just another hi-tech way of being sneaky."
"If there is a resource out there for people that want to cheat on their spouse then it's going to be used," he said.
Ayers also said that people don't know how public this information is.
"The dumbest thing people do is not cover their tracks," said Ayers. "There are certain evidentiary rules we have to follow, but they become a statement against the party sometimes and can be used as evidence.
"What gets people in trouble the most are text messages," said Ayers. "Along with wire taps, I'll get an entire list of text messages."
Text messaging, as well as online social networks, is part of the worldwide movement to the Web to replace a more personal community environment, many experts say. According to the Wireless Association, Americans sent almost 65 billion texts in the first half of 2006. The issue has sparked not only psychological and legal concerns but problems in the classrooms as well.
"It's a considerable source of conversation among professors," said Bob Levey, who holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in the Department of Journalism at the University of Memphis.
Levey said that one professor makes the students pile their phones in a box at the door before they come in the classroom to prevent cheating and other educational distractions.
"I'm an old fashioned guy," said Levey. "I've always said, 'Bring your eyes, your ears and your head to the classroom and nothing else.'"
The problems in the classroom concerning this electronic movement have moved beyond just cheating on exams. It is not unusual now for incoming college students to be warned of the risks of these Internet networks.
Daryl Sattler, 26, a former University of Memphis student now teaches biology and coaches soccer at a high school and college in Jacksonville, Fla., Sattler said that the students are warned repeatedly to watch what shows up on their profiles.
"A student got kicked off of the team for a picture on Myspace," said Sattler. "He was wearing a T-shirt with the school's name on it while funneling beers."
Sattler said that they have a strict policy against representing your school in a harmful way. This began to worry Sattler himself considering that he had his own Myspace account.
"I had to stop getting on when my students began asking me if I was on Myspace," he said. "My friends will leave me comments like 'Stop banging your high school students' just to be funny. If they (his students) searched my name and found me, then gossip could get around to the faculty and cost me my job."
Indecent profiles have cost many students a job as a number of employers are now using these Web sites as a means of making hiring decisions. Don Irwin, the vice president of NES Rentals, manages about 800 employees at the fifth largest construction rental service in the U.S.
"Myspace without discretion can be detrimental to a public image that you're trying to maintain," said Irwin. "I would look for any comments that damage character. I don't want Joe Blow who got really high at the Nirvana concert last night to be a part of my staff."
According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, 26 percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees. More than one-in-10 admit to using social networking sites in their candidate screening processes.
"There have been many instances where applicants have revealed damaging information about themselves within their public comments," said Irwin. "I'll say that it's mostly young adults being young adults. They don't realize what effect their public chit chat could have on their future."
Employers aren't the only ones doing background checks on these sites. The Secret Service recently arrested a man for comments and postings about President Bush on Myspace. Text messaging is also becoming a source for criminal detainment as the messages are kept on record by cell-phone companies.
The biggest concern, however, is the lack of safety, according to Dr. Neal.
"You don't know who you are meeting," said the psychologist. "Sexual predators can get all of that information that you think is just being seen by your friends."
While predators over the Internet have been a concern for some time now, Myspace in particular got national attention recently when a 22-year-old man in Michigan was arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old girl whom he met on the site.
Why then do people take the risk of making their personal information public, despite these growing problems?
"It's an effective way of connecting through friends," said Neal, who has no problem with Myspace or Facebook if used carefully. "Fifty percent of Web sites on the Internet are pornography sites, but that doesn't mean we should do away with the Internet."
Beyond just communicating with friends, this type of networking has taken advertising and marketing to a whole new level. Rolling Stone recently declared Myspace.com the best marketing tool.
"It's extremely beneficial in terms of getting your music heard," said Christian Walker, member of local band Freesol.
Walker, 27, graduated at the University of Georgia with a degree in marketing and now handles all of the marketing duties for Freesol, which has over 25,000 friends on its Myspace network.
"If we have a show coming up, we can blast thousands of people instead of walking around passing out flyers," he said. "The only bad thing about it is getting your music jacked, but that doesn't really matter if you're trying to make it out there."
Musicians and artists aren't the only ones using the tool to market what they are selling. Local businesses and huge corporations are creating profiles to reach out to the masses, as well as the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Recruiting Command recently created its own profile on Myspace and has thus far established up to 200 leads from it.
John Escue, 29, international studies major at The University of Memphis, thought Internet networking sites were just going to be a passing trend.
"After a while, I couldn't get away from hearing about it," said Escue. "I finally signed on and within a week, I was talking to friends I haven't seen in years. I told one of my friends that I hadn't spoken to in about six years that he should come in town from Chattanooga and hang out one weekend. I sent him a message with directions to my house and two weeks later I was catching up on old times in person. I don't think I even made a phone call."
Some students use the networking sites to make up for academic missteps.
"There was this girl in one of my classes that missed two classes in a row before a test and found me on Facebook," said Jennifer Wells, 26, a graduate student at The University of Memphis. "She asked for my notes, and I think she passed her test just from contacting me on there."
Careerbuilders.com says there are career benefits to having an online profile. While sharing information online can get a person in trouble sometimes, it can also be a way to distinguish yourself from other job applicants. The site offers three suggestions for using the networking to your advantage: "Be careful, be discreet, be prepared."
Dr. Neal offers a few approaches to staying away from the "dark side" of Myspace.
"Be very aware of your profile showing too much about you, such as your full name, where you live, what school you go to and especially your phone number," he said.
Big Brother is watching you. The tale of a future without privacy envisioned by George Orwell in 1949 has finally arrived and become as real as a profile on Myspace. There is nothing you can do about it except abide by what your parents have told you all of your life: Don't talk to strangers and behave yourself in public.
