To Facebook or Not to Facebook

When I first joined Facebook back in 2008, I was a young boy, innocent to the world around me. I was allowed to join Facebook because it was supposed to be private and safe for children, and from pedophiles, unlike Myspace. However that blissful ignorance has changed. As it turns out, Facebook really isn't that private. In fact there is not a single aspect that is completely private from anyone but you. All of your information, what you like, what you think and how you act, is taken from Facebook and sold to advertising companies. These websites then turn the information into ads that are special for you in order to make money. Although the website is free and can be addicting for some, the risks of all you information being taken from you blindly and sold to advertising companies out ways using the website. Nothing is free, even if you don't directly pay for it. The cost is your privacy. Are you willing to use the website despite that impingement upon your privacy? I didn't come to this conclusion of my own terms. An article written for the NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/magazine/why-facebook-is-after-your-kids.html?_r=1, brought this issue to light for the general public. After reading the article, I understood the risks of using the website. I still use Facebook, and probably will continue to despite the piracy of my information.