Are “Social Norms” to Blame?

From being an exclusive “college” network to letting the whole world in, Facebook has evolved astronomically these last few years. I remember looking back on my own experience and thinking, “What’s gonna happen to my profile when I graduate?” Well, I now have my answer, obviously.

But in the midst of this grand evolution, there still has to be some element of privacy. (Facebook recently amended its privacy settings.) We all know that Facebook has made once private information available to the public in recent months. Is Mark Zuckerberg’s argument that the ever-changing “social norms” of society are to blame, convincing enough? The author of this article doesn’t seem to think so; in fact, he believes that Zuckerberg is deviating from his past beliefs:

“I don't buy Zuckerberg's argument that Facebook is now only reflecting the changes that society is undergoing… ‘Privacy control, he told me less than 2 years ago, is "the vector around which Facebook operates” .’

However, Zuckerberg makes a good point: “"We view it as our role in the system to constantly be innovating and be updating what our system is to reflect what the current social norms are.”

I personally think the term “social norms” is a bit dated for this argument, but that’s a whole other discussion.

I can see both sides of the story. But either way, just have common sense. Figure out Facebook’s privacy settings. Don’t post stuff you wouldn’t want your grandmother or her Bingo friends to see.