This new communication medium turned out to be a phenomenon and was an instant hit with younger people, typically, high school teens and college students. Users of Facebook could network without ever having to leave their dorms or bedrooms from where they could introduce friends to other friends, post their latest pictures, circulate interesting stories, so that friends and the friends of friends could keep up with am ever-growing network.
Facebook became very popular, often replacing direct emailing between younger people. It was a brilliant idea. Along the way it has spun other similar sites such as MySpace, Reddit and numerous others. Except that as with most things dealing with modern technology, if not used carefully it can backfire, and with grave consequences.
Thousand of teenagers and college kids post incriminating photographs of themselves on their electronic bulletin board in cyberspace. Most of it is done innocently and without giving the whole concept much of a second thought. That has turned out to be a big mistake, because life in cyberspace is never so simple. The outcome has proved detrimental to some users.
Facebook and other sites turned into a convenient tool for potential employers to carry out quick background checks on applicants. In several instances the would-be employer discovered lurid photographs of applicants or photographs taken at parties where adult beverages were abundantly available, even when the consumers were underage. This led to the applicant being turned down and if already employed, it led to their firing.
There are also a number of cases involving grade school teachers who were summarily fired because of pictures that ended up on their Facebook pages. Some of these teachers were innocent, but the "evidence" was incriminating; and possibly fearing lawsuits from irate parents, the schools preempted any legal action by letting the teachers go.
But now reports from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, are emerging that Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite political/paramilitary/social organization trained and financed by Iran and accused of terrorist activities by the United States, is using Facebook to learn of potential Israeli military movements, to gather possibly sensitive information about Israeli military bases and to pick up intelligence that could be harmful to Israel's security.
The Lebanese Internet site Ya Lubnan quotes an Israeli site as saying that Hezbollah is turning to Facebook to find out more "about Israel's military bases and soldiers, who are potential kidnapping targets."
According to the Israeli source, the Israeli military high command has launched an awareness program warning soldiers to avoid giving details regarding their army units or other details on the Net.
The report quoted Israeli intelligence officials saying that "Facebook is a major resource for terrorists, seeking to gather information on soldiers and IDF units and the fear is soldiers might even unknowingly arrange to meet an Internet companion who in reality is a terrorist."