The latest lurid case of Internet overkill – a student who apparently posted video of his roommate having sex – shows just how foul the Web can get.
But it's also another reminder of an important fact of social networking: Less is almost always better when it comes to sharing information about friends.
Brian McNely, assistant professor of English at Ball State University, said while social media is not to blame for what happened to the Rutgers University student, it has the potential to do as much harm as bring benefits.
"I think its all depending on the context," he said. "Most students have been caferful about what to post or tag in photos on Facebook. You must be careful not to leave a trail of things you might not want revealed in the future. Students are the most prone to do this, but it's not just them. We've seen people lose their jobs."
Like in real life, students must be careful about what they want to express, McNely said.
"You have the capacity to yell ‘fire' in a movie theatre but there would be consequences from some legal ramification," he said. "Things that they say online publicly like Twitter and Facebook, they should assume those things are going to stay forever. People have to be very wary about what they post."
The revelation that 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University Student, had jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22 led to a debate when it was discovered that his rommate posted videos of him having a sexual encounter with another man.
Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, of Plainsboro, N.J., and another student, Molly Wei, of Princeton, N.J., both 18, are charged with invasion of privacy, with the most serious charges carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Clementi's death was part of a string of suicides in September involving youngsters who were believed to have been victims of anti-gay bullying. 15-year-old Billy Lucas hanged himself in a barn in Greensburg, Ind. Asher Brown, 13, shot himself in the head in Houston. And 13-year-old Seth Walsh of Tehachapi, Calif., hanged himself from a tree in his backyard.
"This shows that nobody is safe from bullying," Kyle Stepler, sophomore criminal justice major, said. "Because no matter how old you are, what environment you are in, you can still get bullied."
Even when life is not at stake, there's an important place for internet etiquette.
Brand-Youself, a company that helps individuals manage their online reputation, said in a blog post that although many think of it as common sense, they don't always think before they post.
The post went on to list some of the most common messages that students post that could bring negative consequences, such as pictures of individuals in a party with alcohol, or swearing on Facebook updates.
Not everybody whose private life ends up on the Web is the victim of a Rutgers-style outing. Some simply do it to themselves, like the people who overshare about last night's sexual escapades or post photos of themselves doing shots.
McNely noted the recent case of the Duke University student who posted a PowerPoint thesis-style rundown of her sexual adventures. Karen Owen, a recent graduate from the university, sent in an e-mail to her friends a list of 13 athletes she had a sexual encounter with.
"In this case, chances were very good that they would get out," he said. "You must know that if you are sharing these things, there is always somebody out there to post it."
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