Facebook will never let you leave ... ever

The Internet online phenomenon we all know as Facebook might be more invasive than you previously thought.

Created in 2004 by Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was intended to be an online networking tool designed to keep college students connected with each other in a method superior to e-mail, Instant Messenger and MySpace.

Today, most college students use some sort of online networking service to stay connected with their peers. Facebook has been rapidly closing on MySpace as the most popular online networker.

With the ability to upload photos, music, videos and interact with your "friends" in an endless number of ways, it's no wonder that in today's entertainment age thousands of students are spending hours on end in front of their computers 'poking' away at their secret crushes and giggling at the silly commentary graffiti left on their "wall."

It may seem to many technologically savvy folks that Facebook is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Finally, students have a medium through which they can express themselves without fear of reprisal from any sort of authority figure. Right? At least if you didn't like it, you could get rid of it?

Registering once with Facebook forever stores your personal information in their private archive for 'a reasonable period of time', according to their policies (however long that may be). There is no way to completely remove your information yourself. Erasing every single footprint you had left behind doesn't work. Unbelievably, even if you were to expire, your Facebook page would remain long after you're gone.

In addition, it is important to note that students are no longer the only ones using Facebook. Parents, administrators, police officers, private investigators and judges have all begun to realize the potential of such a site to lead to destructive ends.

Cases of online stalking have become far more frequent in recent years, and the publication of important personal information on Facebook such as names, birthdays, home address, credit card numbers and contact information has only aided these Internet predators. Identity theft and fraud has also increased, due to the availability of this data to anyone listed as a "friend."

These scenarios have led law enforcement to regular trolling of sites like MySpace and Facebook to prevent these cases from occurring. This serves a double purpose, since these sites often contain mountains of incriminating evidence such as photos of underage drinking and illicit drugs, which can be used as evidence to bolster a case against an individual picked up on separate charges.

It is foolish to imagine that anything published on the Internet is "safe." Keep that in mind the next time you want to publish pictures on the Internet of you and your friends wasted. A few words to the wise: Big Brother's always watching.