As you go to routinely check your Facebook at the Undergraduate Library, you are astonished by your latest number of notifications. Immediately, your eyes scroll to the three new friend requests that flash across the screen. Perhaps it’s the older girls from the sorority you just joined, the friendly bartender at Kam’s or the typical randoms that know you by association in your apartment complex.

As a simple click of the button occurs and the screen transforms, you are awakened by the sad truth: your Mom, your boyfriend’s aunt and your roommate’s grandmother have all simultaneously requested you, contributing to the latest phenomenon hitting the networking site. Both employers and adult family members alike have become avid Facebook addicts, complicating the premises of the system that was once known solely to college kids nationwide.

Some would consider Facebook a sanctuary, a place to unleash complaints about the day, possible plans for the weekend and the stresses of a hectic academic schedule. Others use it as a digital bulletin board, frequently posting pictures from the weekend’s festivities and connecting with the friends made along the way. While there is no distinct purpose for Facebook, the options are endless. Regardless of its use, its popularity has been built on its networking purposes and ability to unite college students in a way that is both efficient and dynamic.

Facebook was originally founded as “thefacebook” by Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg. It began at colleges like Stanford, Yale and Harvard and was then extended to other universities across the country. For its first few years of existence, Facebook was not available to just anyone. Originally, users had to be linked to one of the 30,000 plus accepted schools, colleges, universities, organizations and companies within the United States, Canada and other English-speaking nations.

Facebook has transitioned from the college social scene to the snooping parents and employers of the generation before us. Many students have even tailored their Facebook profiles to accommodate the recent alteration in users and have taken notice to the fact that not everyone reading is their own age.

Students, in fear of losing a potential internship or the trust and respect of their beloved parents, have hidden their tagged photos, edited their “about me” information and kept their bar crawl statuses to a minimum. Both comments and posts are being self-censored, while the “message” option is becoming one of the most vital tools in communicating on the site.

The safe haven that had once existed on Facebook has been destroyed and this, in turn, has made students less apt to post whatever they desire.

While some would argue that nothing is considered, “out of harm’s way” or “safe” on the Internet, many would even question if it’s worth it to keep their Facebook account during their college years. It is questionable to consider how many employers use Facebook, when more career-directed social media sites are available, like LinkedIn and Blogster. It is certain that students are worrying about how their future employers will see them, just as they would if their great aunt was creeping keg stand photos at a family party. Facebook’s crowd has extended and students are, not surprisingly, accommodating and taking better care to ensure that these changes won’t affect their own image, sanity and future.

Maura is a freshman in ACES.