Many users befriend other users “even if they are precarious acquaintances or absolute
strangers” (Majmudar 2005) on the Facebook, but not in a non-cyber environment. Since a
number of strangers whom a user categorizes as friends have access to that user’s profile, there
may be privacy concerns. Hughes fields questions of privacy concerns by commenting that all of
the information “has been available inside university systems already” (Majmudar 2005).
However, it was noted in a comparison done at UNC by Stutzman that Facebook prompts users
to enter much more personal and social information than is asked for by the university directory
(Stutzman, Evaluation 2005). The article by Majmudar brings up the point that users have
extensive privacy options. It asks whether Facebook should be considered a privacy concern if it
gives users options (Majmudar 2005). In answer to this question, an article by Bridget Whelan
shares students’ comments saying that the site has an element of “‘creepiness’” (Whelan 2005)
and causes fear of stalking among some students (Whelan 2005). The article notes that Facebook
has popularized stalker like behavior and has become a popular word on college campuses. The
difficulty in resisting “the overwhelming urge to anonymously check up on old high-school
acquaintances” (Whelan 2005) keeps users addicted to the site and open to looking up people
and sharing their information with other users. The article doesn’t conclude whether the site is
merely a fun resource or a privacy invasion, but it gives students’ view points on both sides of
the “Internet craze” (Whelan 2005).