Think before you upload: A lesson from Facebook

The phrase “what's done is done” coined by Shakespeare seems irrelevant in this digital age, as in a digital world everything lasts forever.
This includes content on Facebook where what's uploaded apparently cannot be undone.
The phrase  is, however, fitting to describe the experience of 23-year-old student Clara “Devi” Adheline Supit, a photo of whom has been circulating on the site without her permission.
Clara has reported the case to Bogor Police, and the police have questioned people in relation to the case, including Misly, Devi’s friend, who was believed to have initiated the photo in question.
Misly asked Devi to pose naked two years ago to help Misly’s former boyfriend, Joshua, who was having erection problems..
With the intention of helping her friend, Devi accepted the offer. Devi was also paid after the photo shoot, but asked that the photos were not publicized.
However in April the photos of Devi, including her naked, were circulated using the Facebook social networking site.
Based on early findings, the police have named Joshua a prime suspect. He will face up to six years in prison or fines of Rp 1 billion if found guilty.
Devi’s case adds to an already long list of Facebook-related crimes. Last year there were several kidnapping cases last year where culprits knew their victims through Facebook.
Psychologist Sarlito Wirawan Sarwono highlighted the phenomenon as the downside of the Internet-based social networking.
“Facebook has been categorized as a new medium. People are getting used to it... It can either be our friend or foe,” said Sarlito, advising the public to use the site carefully to avoid possible backlashes.
Sarlito owns two Facebook accounts.
Similarly, sociologist Kahardityo Suprapto suggested people use Facebook carefully.
“What you upload today will last forever and can easily be traced, you can do it with certain software. So do be very careful with it as it bears life-long consequences,” Kahardityo said.
Facebook users, especially those who don’t know how to use it prudently, are the most at risk of possible abuse from unscrupulous users. The absence of age limits on Facebook users has also been a problem as many children have joined without her parents’ knowledge or supervision.
Jakarta is home to the world’s fourth-largest Facebook population, with almost 15 million users in 2009.
The latest report from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in London showed an increasing trend of sexual crimes related to the site. The number criminal cases involving Facebook had quadrupled in the first three months this year, to 252.