Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Spreading around campus like wildfire since it expanded to include Swarthmore late last summer, thefacebook.com has become an instant success on Swarthmore’s campus. First started by a group of Harvard students last winter, and originally intended for use by Ivy League and other elite schools, the Facebook has now spread to colleges all over the country. From the University of Alabama to Yale and everything in between, students join the network by posting a picture and setting up a profile. They can then add other members as friends. By searching other members’ profiles students can add as friends people with whom they share a class, or a club/group interest, or even the same high school/hometown. Within the Swarthmore section of the website alone, there are almost 300 groups that a student can join. Some Swat students are reported to have added that many friends. But it gets more
complicated.
Students can remove friends (or reject potential friends) with just a click of the mouse. Or they can “poke” a fellow member-the exact definition of which the site refuses to reveal, but which seems to be mainly a way of letting another member know that you’ve noticed them. Within your profile page, there are sections to indicate whether you’re interested in men or women and whether you’re in a serious relationship or just out for “play”. Rumor has it you can even marry other members!
So is the Facebook simply a fad or here to stay? It is hard to tell, but its immense popularity at the moment is evident. Any time this reporter has walked into the McCabe computer lab during the past semester she has seen at least one or two people visiting the Facebook website.
