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The Marie Syndrome on Facebook

Have you noticed lately that your friends on facebook are disappearing? No, I don't mean de-friending you - I mean when you go to look for "Sarah L." and and you can't seem to find her right off the bat because she's now "Sarah Marie". It just so happens that Marie is the most common middle name for females in the United States, and there seems to be a lot more women popping up on facebook with their last name changed to Marie.

I can understand why someone would choose to change their name on the social network - most likely so their employers can't locate them and they steer clear of unwanted friend requests. I've had many of my friends follow this trend, but I have yet to take the leap. Why? Well, I don't really have anything to hide on facebook or any other online portal. I only put information online that I would want someone to know about me and I've taken the time to delve into facebook's privacy & security features and created lists for co-workers, friends, and family so only the information I wish to share is visible. Plus, if I changed my facebook last name to my middle name it would be Cheriana Crystal Gretchen, and I'd rather stick with just one last name.

What I find most interesting though is this sort of circle we've made in online usernames & privacy. I remember being in middle school and creating my first AOL Instant Messenger screen name with the point being to create an anonymous name that would allow you to chat with whoever you wished to. MySpace brought about a mix of  people presenting themselves as who they really are and others that still chose to create semi-anonymous usernames that were more times than not obnoxious such as "*!~mIsS PrINCess*!~". Facebook brought more reality to the online social networks and made it ok to be yourself. After all, facebook was at first only available to approved colleges and you only connected with people you actually knew. It was a cool place to reconnect with old friends and share what was going on in your life. Once facebook allowed anyone to sign up and the social network's popularity skyrocketed, a trend back to anonymity was seen.

As with any online portal, you need to consider your privacy & security and what you post there for the world to see. While I understand a new college grad not wanting future employers to view their photos and information, they're really making it hard for the people they want to connect with to find them by catching The Marie Syndrome. For now, I think I'll keep my facebook account just the way it is - Cheriana Griggs.