College is filled with opportunities to meet new people. From parties to classes, new faces are everywhere, including the Internet.

Internet sites such as MySpace and Facebook have become popular places to meet new people with similar classes and interests, though some Web sites may be a less personal way of getting to know people and developing new relationships.

Battle of the domains

“I think avenues such as Facebook and MySpace are perfect ways to meet new people,” said Sean Eriksen, a freshman pre-communication major. “It helps keep in touch with people you meet when you go out at night, and keeps your group of friends on the same network.”

Eriksen, along with other freshmen, has logged onto these sites to meet new people. However, with so many college students logging on and sharing personal information, some question not only the security of the sites, but the accuracy as well.

“It’s too easy for a 56-year-old sex registrant to create a MySpace profile claiming to be a regular high school student,” said Carrie Kurz, a junior psychology major. “Communication and networking is great among people your similar age, but MySpace is currently home to profiles of people of all ages.”

Facebook, unlike MySpace, requires students to provide a valid school e-mail address. MySpace requires no such verifications, which allows for any person of any age to register and communicate with others.

Decline of communication

The latest advancements in technology, education and awareness may be what students need to stay away from predators and other security problems that come with the Internet.

“Given that the Web is here to stay, I believe it would probably be a good idea to equip everyone at an early age with the intellectual and moral tools needed to negotiate the electronic terrain,” retired sociology professor John Stolte said.

A new concern arising from this new technology is the possible decline in personal communication because of the Internet’s convenience.

A 2004 Pew Internet and American Life Project study shows those who e-mail and use other sites for communication are still fairly sociable and tend to communicate just as well as those who rely solely on person-to-person contact.

The study surveyed more than 2,000 Internet users ages 18 and older, and examined various ways people communicate via the Internet versus personal communication.

The results show those who e-mail close friends are also in contact with 50 percent of them through phone conversations. In contrast, those who do not use e-mail consistently are only in contact with 40 percent of their close friends weekly.

“Heavy e-mail users have more than twice as much landline phone contact than e-mail non-users,” according to the study.

Instant gratification

Our generation has grown to expect instant gratification, especially when it comes to communication, Kurz said.

Between the various ways of communicating such as cell phones, iPods and different instant messaging tools, sending comments or e-mails on a daily basis isn’t unusual for college students.

“I think [Facebook] is beneficial to personal contact among students,” she said.

With the changes in technology, some think back to what communication was like when they were younger.

“No doubt, there are discernible differences between the ways folks of my generation and students of today interact and communicate,” Stolte said. “While there are some continuities in the broader culture, obviously there are also some elements of culture that are unique today compared with the culture of my group [of] ‘baby-boomers.'”