CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (KABC) — A University of Georgia student is crediting Facebook with helping him stop an armed robbery in progress at his family’s home.

Nitesh Bhakta was inside his room on his laptop when he heard his grandmother scream. The robbers had tied up his grandmother and 17-year-old sister at gunpoint.

When he opened his bedroom door, Bhakta saw several hooded men at the front door. He shut the door and climbed into the attic. Bhakta didn’t have his cell phone so he logged onto his computer.

“I just took it out, opened it up, and got on Facebook and started posting,” said Bhakta. “Facebook was the only thing where I knew I could reach someone instantly that was on chat.”

The student’s best friend alerted police who quickly arrived at the house. One of the suspects was captured. Police were still searching for at least two others.

There are many people who do not think that the internet is useful. Moreover, they think that pages like Facebook is damaging young people’s identity, causing depression and taking too much attention from them. This article proves them wrong.                                 A 17 years old boy helped to catch some people who were going to robbed his home. He climbed up to the attic with his computer, then he went on Facebook and contact one of his friends who called the police. I am so surprised what a young person capable to do. After seeing his family members suffering he had enough courage to call for help. He must loved his computer to have with him, and what a great idea going on Facebook. I don’t know what I would have done in the same situation, but I think asking help on Facebook wouldn’t have been among my options.                                                                      It is interesting how Facebook became the part of people’s lives. Ten years ago people barely had internet at home, and owning a computer was a luxury. Now, I don’t know anybody who does not have a computer and a Facebook account. I have friends who are singed in on Facebook 24/7 and share everything what they do. I often think that they are addicted to Facebook, however, reading this article I have to admit that being on Facebook can be very useful. We always talk about that we have to be careful what we share with others or how much time we should spend online. What about if people feel safe if they are online? They always have somebody whom they can talk to; never feel alone. The boy in the article was sure he could reach somebody who would help him. Facebook saved their lives. Who knew what Facebook is good for.

Somehow the article does not appear with my comment. Here is the article:

MYFOXNY.COM – Imagine being able to record and monitor every digital move your teen makes from text messages to emails. High-tech surveillance software turns parents into cyber sleuths, giving them the ability to digitally see it all. But does new surveillance software empower concerned parents or turn them into intrusive cyber spies?

A mobile app called eBlaster mobile can secretly be installed on a child’s phone and send Mom and Dad copies of every text sent and received, including digital pictures. The app is available for either Blackberry or Android phones. Once installed on the mobile device a parent wants to monitor, the program goes into “stealth mode” and is practically undetectable to the teen who is using their cell phone.

It’s digital eavesdropping technology that would expose a teenager’s formerly private digital world to parents prying eyes. And while most teens will dread this technology, many parents will be drawn to it.

SpectorSoft created the app, and the company has similar spyware designed for computers. Parents can install SpectorPro without a child knowing it and use the software to monitor online chats and web surfing. The software records hundreds of digital snapshots of the computer screen and compiles them into a visual log that parents can scroll through to see what a teen has been up to on the computer. The program also has a built-in dictionary that searches for and deciphers acronyms or codes kids use in chats. For example, if a parent comes across a word like ASL in recorded chats, the program will reveal the letters stand for: Age, Sex, Location.

The company claims the program can decipher hundreds of acronyms and cryptic codes:

GNOC = GET NAKED ON CAM
RUH = ARE YOU HORNY?
420 = marijuana

Dr. Jeff Gardere, Fox 5 News contributing psychologist, has some concerns about spying on your kids.

“When do you draw the line when you go from being concerned parent to being a stalker of your kids,” Dr. Gardere says. He thinks parents who want to use this type of software need to be honest with their kids if they plan on installing it on their computer or cell phone.

Otherwise, Dr. Gardere says if a child finds out his or her parent has secretly been spying on them it could have serious repercussions.

“They will feel betrayed and feel major issues of trust from that point on between you and that child,” he says.

Both the eBlaster mobile app and SpectorPro computer monitoring software can be found here:

Spying on Your Kids

This was the headline by an article written by Tim Herrera that spoke about the iPhone having a tracking feature that is a part of the phone that sends your location to a server where it is stored but not shared. The NYT also featured an article named “Your iPhone is Tracking You. So What?” concerning this iPhone feature, in which two researchers discovered the iPhone and iPad keep a minute to minute log of where you have been and where you are going.

Apparently many customers already knew about this feature in the phone but did not mind it. For those who recently found out about the tracker they shared in the same feelings of not caring too much. So, it seems that people are used to or are getting used their privacy being taken away from them. The fine line between public and private content has been crossed so many times that it is difficult to pinpoint which is which anymore. The people with iPhones who do not care if their location is transmitted to a server seem to heavily outweigh those who do care. For those who want and wish to maintain some sort of privacy, even if it is with their phone, suffer because more and more people are finding it ok to share personal information. We are slowly moving towards a society that all will be public knowledge. Similar to Josh Harris’ idea behind “We Live in Public.” Just like in Harris’ Big Brother project, people will eventually get fed up with having no privacy whatsoever but by then it will be too late.

Even as a college student I still enjoy watching cartoons just because I find them to be funny and innocent in nature. One of my favorite shows growing up was Arthur, usually seen on Pbs Kids. One of their newer episodes actually relates to our class; the good and bad behind blogging. Long story short, one of the characters mentions “One should not write anything in an email they would not want to see on the front page of the newspaper.” This comment, I think, sums up what most people should think about before writing anything that can be made public content. This comment relates to many articles and discussions in class concerning texting and emailing. Sending an email or text to a friend is in our nature to ask the simplest questions. But what if in one message we are ranting to a friend about another friend, a work related situation, or anything negative, must we then worry that are private message will be leaked? Well in many instances that has been the case unfortunately.

Now we have to worry about personal conversations being spread through a social outlet, informing the world how we feel and think because one person decided to share another’s thoughts. If we have ever wronged someone, what are the chances that person will take what you have said and twist it to make you look bad? Again, this always happens. People like to make others look bad to feel better about themselves and nowadays it is as easy as ever to do so with evidence.