Originally published Oct. 18, 2007.

“You know you go to Biola when … you hear there’s a Biola party, and you automatically assume it includes a Disney movie and popcorn,” or when “you go on a coffee date at Common Grounds and everyone assumes you’re getting married,” or even when all this sounds so familiar because you could have sworn you joined a group like this on Facebook. Truth is, you probably have.

Facebook, one of the most popular social networking Web sites among college students, has paved the way for online trends on Biola’s campus. What started as an article to chronicle various popular online resource sites has become all about one site: Facebook. Why? Because it boasts a membership of 5,836 Biola students while only 5,752 students were enrolled at Biola University last year.

If that’s not convincing enough, the university itself sure is because a link to Facebook can be found on Biola’s own Web site. In the Resources section for current students, Facebook sits next to Bubbs under “Get Connected.” Moreover, more than 25 Biola faculty members have resigned to the Facebook trend and have added their profiles to the Biola network. When various Biola students were asked about different popular Web sites, the topic of discussion always came back to Facebook. Why has this epidemic swept through our campus?

Freshman Amanda Lee gave a reason: “Facebook is a modern fusion of one’s personal email and homepage.”

The idea, though simple, is brilliant. Facebook offers communication and self-expression all in one. It’s conducive to community.

“I go on Facebook a lot just to network,” Junior Robert Orozco said. “I can poke them which is kind of fun. I can have my top friends, an inspirational verse and a lot of fun videos.”

Orozco only described a fraction of the overwhelming amount of applications offered on Facebook. Users can post hundreds of photos, virtually post flyers, sell and buy items, blog, give online gifts, and even leave notes, pictures and graffiti on others’ profiles. Biola students share similarities in groups like “I HAVE A DISNEYLAND PASS!,” which has 47 members to date. In previous years, anonymous Biolans have even invited other Biola students to the notorious library dance party as an event through Facebook. The Biola Facebook network is a thriving community in and of itself.

Biola students also make a distinction between Facebook and its rival, MySpace.

“MySpace is the one I use the least; I go on Facebook the most because I feel like it’s the safest one to go on because you don’t get all those crazy emails asking you to visit this site and it’s probably inappropriate,” said Orozco.

Senior Julie Sallee, who visits Facebook more often than MySpace, admits that Facebook “is a lot less creepy.” Furthermore, the site is easier to navigate and more of her friends use Facebook as opposed to MySpace. Lee also sees major differences between the two sites.

“MySpace is based more on reputation and appearance,” she said. “It’s like who you’re friends with and what you look like. Facebook — you’re just keeping in contact with people you know.”

With any social online network, however, there are risks.

“People put too much emphasis on communication rather than people,” Dr. Michael Longinow, Chair of the Journalism Department, at Biola University said. There can be a real danger if Facebook becomes a “substitute for the reality of relationships,” he said.

Facebook also encourages major procrastination when students spend hours on the site.

“People can spend their whole day or half their day looking at Facebook and messaging all the time,” said Orozco.

Facebook, ironically, can even ravage our social interactions. By spending more time in front of a computer and less with actual people, our ability to contribute to the community may disintegrate.

Despite its flaws, Facebook still stands tall in its ability to build community.

“It’s easier to plan events. It’s easier to organize your friends and get them all together,” said Sallee.

With a group as large as the entire Biola student body, Facebook allows for event information to reach students by the masses. Dr. Longinow even admitted that Facebook is “one of the best things out there for students to communicate and connect to one another.” The site is also a “way for Christians in particular to reach out to others in new and exciting ways,” shared Dr. Longinow.

From joining silly groups to spreading the Gospel, Biola students have integrated Facebook into the Biola community as a means of getting connected.