Before I get started, I am in no way accusing Facebook of committing any crimes. I may, however, not agree with many of its actions, along with the shadiness of how much power it may have without anyone knowing. The craziest part about all of this – this “shadiness” – is hidden within the grasp of each user, but barely anyone takes the time to read the official privacy policy.

But why read a privacy policy when you can read a random acquaintance’s status? You know the one, right? That person who you’ve walked by a few times in the hall, yet never said a word to? Or how about that friend of a friend of a friend that you don’t know at all but think is attractive, so you send them a friend request and then are able to virtually see their entire life on a computer screen?

Facebook may or may not be turning us into a socially awkward society that feels more comfortable communicating through typing than speaking face to face, but that’s an argument for another time.

In its privacy policy, Facebook states that once a user has any change to his or her profile (wall post, tagged picture, new status, new ‘About Me’ section, etc.), that they have the right to retain the information for up to eighteen months after. Also, right in the beginning, Facebook claims that: “This privacy policy covers all of Facebook. It does not, however, apply to entities that Facebook does not own or control, such as applications and websites using Platform.” This leads to trouble when the privacy policy is read more in-depth, and the truth about what these “entities” like applications are really doing.

Facebook claims: “That means that when you use those applications and websites you are making your Facebook information available to someone other than Facebook.” Now my questions rise: Who is really controlling these applications? Could it be possible that Facebook has a deal behind the scenes with these applications to use them as a front for something bigger? Think about it. Our generation puts nearly everything it does on Facebook whether it is in statuses or pictures or posts. Like I said, I’m not accusing or making any outlandish claim that Facebook is trying to take over the Internet (because that would just be ridiculous!), but merely stating that I think before we put our entire lives into a profile, we should be more enlightened on where that information is really going after all of our friends see it.