The Facebook Phenomenon

The AJC has written an article about the recent "facebook" phenomenon that has gripped campuses across the country. And yes, I am a victim.

For college freshmen, the days of lonely dining-hall lunches or awkward, foot-shuffling introductions have gone the way of the dot-matrix printer. This year, many of these tech-savvy teens are coming to school pre-acquainted, thanks to www.facebook.com, a voyeuristic virtual network that posts pictures, profiles and e-mail addresses of millions of college students.

Created in February 2004 by then-Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg as a way for students on the Boston campus to connect, facebook has since exploded onto more than 800 colleges and universities nationwide. The free service allows any student with a ".edu" e-mail address to post his or her identity online, offering them options on everything from political leanings to favorite movies and books.