By DAVID MATTESON
“Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, posted this on his Facebook wall on Sept. 22. A victim of cyberbullying, Clementi’s suicide has become a symbol of the negative effects of social networking.
Despite this drawback, a recent poll collected by Hi-Lights reporters found that 83 percent of students use Facebook as their preferred social network. The growth in popularity of web sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter has created a profound influence on this generation’s means of interacting. Profile pages have become a snapshot of who a person is and how he or she wants to be perceived by the world.
Profiles are also being utilized by prospective employers and college admission counselors. Photos, status updates and even friends may be analyzed by reviewers to determine acceptance into a job or university.
For more on the subject of social networking, check out the special coverage of in this edition of Hi-Lights.