Cyber bullying is incredibly prevalent today and I see it all the time working in schools. It's not just Facebook so you can't just blame one social networking site. At school now, children are given a computer login and an email in many cases. If they don't bully on Facebook they find other means of cyber bullying such as their school email or other places. Yes, cyber bullying is about people being able to bully other people behind the wall of the internet. But it's got nothing to do with Facebook really, Facebook is just one of the vessels that often gets used.

Once again it is the blaming of a digital medium to explain the shortfalls of society/schooling/parenting/whatever.

If you are smart about your privacy settings you can avoid anything detrimental happening.

Personally, I love Facebook. When I was living in New Zealand it was the easiest and cheapest way to keep in touch with my friends and family. I could show them my photos, post messages to them, see what they were up to and they could see what I was up to. As I've grown up many of my friends and family have moved out of Melbourne (as I often have!) so I think it is a great way to keep in touch.

Yeah all true, but a guy using his penis as a gun during sex or yelling out random things such as 'I'm finished' is pretty derogatory if girls aren't given that right too, haha...

I hate to come off glib with things like this, an Irish immigrant here recently took her own life because of cyber bullying but honestly, parents need to stop thinking their kids **** ice cream and put some boots to youths. Kids aren't slapped nearly enough these days and the parents of these kids should get some legal action as well.

Not a sentence you use every day! But I think men and women are allowed to do different things, for example a man could grab the paper and say "I'm going for a massive shit and no one would batter an eyelid, but if a woman did it...

I think men have that immaturity to get away with it, but if a women did it, it'd be stranger.

yes but that's the whole crux isn't it? I can't stand over my kids all the time they are on the net and they can use it as a tool to vent their spleen whereas 20 years ago you had to keep it inside or risk civil action etc.

If Facebook want to continue (and yes it does have it's merits as an interaction site) then it needs to tighten it's moral belt and protect people more. It earns more than enough to be monitored by those that run it but ad revenue and corporation tie ins override this. I will say that ALL social networking sites are culpable but people really need to open their eyes and see Facebook for what is, which is a site that puts profit before anything else therefore losing it's initial purpose of innocent networking.

The internet is the most powerful social tool in the world, even moreso than TV so it would be heartening to know that it takes itself seriously regarding it's moral code.

My 11 year old son joined recently completely unbeknownst to me despite the joining age being at least 13 (probably 14) Yeah way to go FB. As long as you can spread ads around and stupid apps who cares how old he is?

Before you say parental control. The PC is in the main room and locks are on but facebook is not a site that SHOULD require locking but it obviously does.

I think social networking sites are much more trouble than they're worth.

They're the fastest way of people getting hold of personal information. I don't want bosses & employers reading all my personal crap either. I'm under huge pressure to get a facebook by my co-workers. I refuse everytime.

I did a google search of my own name.
Nothing came up whatsoever, even though I've been on the internet 10+ years.

I'm making damn sure it stays like that.

Same here. I have only been in my new job for around 10 weeks but I have been asked constantly if I have FB. What, so you have never had a conversation with me despite the fact that I have said hello and tried to initiate conversation to basically nil response but you will add me there and post some random crap on my 'wall'? No thankyou.

Personally, the only thing it's good for is making it easy to stay in touch with friends and family. I have family all over the states and it comes in more handy as they all use FB too.
Obviously, you don't have to use your real name and info nor do you have to make anything on your "page" public. You don't have to accept a request from anyone you don't want to, so your info isn't seen by anyone you don't want to see it.

Social networking sites aren't the problem.
The people that use them irresponsibly are.

Exactly.

And children who use them irresponsibly need more education on what responsible internet use encompasses. We're living in a world that is completely saturated with ICT and multiliteracies... you can't stop kids from using and exploring them. What you can do is monitor their use and educate them on how to use the internet responsibly.

hey...hey jackhammer....how come you're out for my blood?

You don't need to helicopter your children but if you can't teach them the morals of jesus then they ought to know the fear of God.

How come this thread which is meant for harmlessly laughing at moronic statuses has turned into a debate about Facebook?

Surely the place for that would be http://www.musicbanter.com/lounge/19411-facebook-2.html

Stay on topic people!