&When I started this assignment I’ll admit that I did not expect to come across any digital deception because I couldn’t think of any friends who present inaccurate information in their Facebook profiles. Facebook is a widely used social networking platform that could easily be used for deception, however, it wasn’t until the platform’s recent transition from an exclusive application with only verified users to a program that anyone could use that I believe it became a valid tool for deception. I am a Facebook user within a college network which requires validation, this is the first level of protection against deception that is built into Facebook as it ensures that at least one piece of a user’s profile is accurate. Beyond that, within a verified network on Facebook, most social links are between real life friends or acquaintances, so deception becomes even less common because there is a social check and balances system in place. Although cases of deception are not uncommon within such verified networks, I believe that they occur with a much lower frequency than within large unverified networks like online dating services and other, more open, social networking web sites. It was with this idea already in my mind that I questioned my friend on the accuracy of his Facebook profile.
Prior to going through any specific information in his profile, my friend stated that all of the details were completely true. Sure enough, when we went through it piece by piece he claimed that each item was entirely accurate. Having lived with him for an entire school year, I went back through his profile and agreed with his evaluation. Beyond my concurrence, his friend was present while we did this assessment and she also verified each claim that he made. I will admit that profile information is rarely one hundred percent accurate, and my friend is a rather honest guy, but I also believe that many inaccuracies in college Facebook profiles are not due to deception, but rather outdated information or humorous jokes among friends. The fact that our friends on Facebook know us in person limits us on the amount of deceptive information that we can present.
In the case of Facebook for college networks, I don’t believe the Social Distance Theory is accurate. The Facebook platform is not a particularly rich media: it is asynchronous, and text based; however the social connections made through Facebook are generally between people that already know each other in person. The Social Distance Theory would predict that such a lean media would produce social connections that are more distanced. I suspect that digital deception happens in much greater frequency in unverified networks on Facebook, as well as other social networking websites like Myspace, and online dating services like Match.com. However, when talking specifically about Facebook for college networks, I see a unique social medium that is not as prone to deception as the equally lean, aforementioned mediums.
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I agree with you that it's very rare to find examples of deception on Facebook that are actually intended to deceive. Personally, I want to make sure that my friends and acquaintances think that I'm an honest person. I also want to ensure that I don't appear dishonest to people I meet who might end up checking my profile. But, as you said, college students need a valid school email address to join their school's Facebook network. It would be interesting to see if deception is more prevalent on Facebook networks that don't require a college email address for authorization.
Based on the definition that deception is revealing false information, during this assignment I also came across a Facebook which was ultimately completely honest. However, both myself and the person whose Facebook I was analyzing agreed that there was a certain level of deception due not to fallacy, but to selective-self presentation tactics. While I'm sure your friend didn't blatantly lie at all on his profile, leaving out certain interests or including activities he's done only a few times is a form of deception in the world of Facebook.
I think you are probably accurate when you point out that deception is not that noticeable on Facebook. I feel that it may be more prevalent than you think, but in subtle ways, such as embellishing lists of activities to appear more involved on campus. I think you make a good point in distinguishing between the college network aspect of Facebook vs. the 'other' people using this social utility or other websites such as Myspace. I agree that Social Distance Theory probably doesn't really explain your observations. I am curious, which theory do you think would apply?
I too went into this assignment believing that my friends surely didn’t post any inaccurate information on their facebook profiles. A few of the points you mentioned I thought were particularly interesting. First off, I agree to the fact that a lot of the information of a facebook profile isn’t as much inaccurate as it is out of date. As a result I can understand that you think that facebook would be a less deliberately deceptive medium, in comparison to others. Additionally I like how you said that because a lot of the “friends” we have on facebook, are people we actually know there is a regular system of checks and balances with reality
I would agree that Facebook is not the ideal medium for deception. It is a much different social networking platform when even compared to MySpace. To further your experiment, it would be interesting if you compared the validity of profiles on other social networks, such as MySpace, and determine if the increased anonymity with MySpace (one needs not use their real name or personal information such as college or work affiliations) makes people more prone to deceiving in that online space. While Facebook is used more to connect with people you know in real life, I would argue that MySpace makes it much easier to friend random people and garage bands. In addition, would you be able to apply your Facebook findings to any other theories we have discussed in class, such as O'sullivan's theory or the Media Richness Theory? Would Facebook not be the most convenient medium for deception, even though it is asynchronous and text-based, for the most part?
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