(MWP2 Precis 2) Precis on "A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States"

In her article "A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States", Susan B. Barnes redirects the hatred and blame being directed at social networking sites toward the teenagers and young adults who use them, claiming that they sign up for the sites and publish personal information, and are then outraged when peers, parents, and the teachers and faculty from their schools see it and they are to suffer the consequences.  She first gives examples of the kinds of private information generally posted by members of social networking sites, and then continues to give pros and cons and establish the differences between social and private information, and how the line between the two is become hazed as this generations technology continually advances; she concludes by answering an earlier established question of whether or not "we actually have privacy in this day and age, digitally", and how she thinks it will take collaborative effort, maybe more so from the users' side, to truly establish cyber-privacy.  Her purpose is to convey that the social networking sites are not evil, and are not doing a single thing they don't tell users they will do when they sign up, and that people need to be more educated on what kinds of information they should or shouldn't, or even want, to put up on their profile.  Her intended audience includes both scholars interested in the issue of online privacy, users of social networks, and those involved directly with the ongoing battle between upset users and online social network admins.

Article Link: http://www.mendeley.com/research/a-privacy-paradox-social-networking-in-the-united-states/#

MLA Citation:

Barnes, Susan B. "A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States". First Monday 11.9 (2006):
         11-15. Web. 5 March 2012.

Annotation:
This article's coverage on interviews with particular sections of often-disgruntled users such as students and parents/teachers on online social network supplied a means to put a face on the group that is causing the online privacy issue to get out of hand, giving quotes that summarize the issue as it applies to the majority of those involved.