Facebook.com is a popular phenomenon amongst Calvin students, as well as students at virtually every college and university. Currently there are more than 4,000 Facebook accounts associated with Calvin College. This includes some recent alumni as well as faculty and staff, but clearly most Calvin students are members.

An online database that connects students through social networks, Facebook allows members to create a personalized, online profile which can be viewed by friends and others who have access to the site. Each college's Facebook domain is an exclusive community and can be accessed only by members from that institution; a Calvin Facebook user cannot access another college's domain unless invited by a member from that school.

“A growing concern at many schools is the sharing of personal information,” comments John Witte, Dean of Residence Life. “The social networking can be fun, but many students don't think about the risks. When on-line profiles can be accessed by others, issues such as identity theft and cyber-stalking can arise. We encourage students to only share information online that they would be comfortable with everyone knowing.”

That goes for photographs as well. Many schools, including Calvin, have responded to students who post pictures of illegal or inappropriate activities, after these pictures were brought to the attention of administrators. “These sites are public, and there should be no expectation of privacy,” adds Witte. “Not to mention that we expect more from a Calvin student, in terms of behavior and maturity.” Witte echoes the advice of many experts in this area--talk to your students about their web-life, particularly with regard to privacy and inappropriate self-disclosure. “It's a new frontier, and we're all learning as we go.”