Fake identities on Facebook popular among college students

As Facebook continues to grow in popularity among students from all over the country, the number of fake names and identities on this Internet community also grows.

Having a fake name on Facebook, an Internet community where college and high school students can create profiles, display photographs, exchange messages and meet other students, is not an unusual trend nowadays.

Facebook is a well-known online communication portal that connects people through social networks at schools. Anyone who is registered and has a profile on Facebook may gain access to other students at their school’s profile without their permission.

All a person needs to sign up for a Facebook profile is a “.edu” e-mail address. Therefore, meeting Brad Pitt, Jesus Christ or any other outrageous character on Facebook would not be so surprising anymore.

“I have a fake identity on the Facebook; the name is Poopie McPoopsalot,” said junior information system student Mark Armstrong. “It was just a joke, mainly poking fun at a friend.”

Mr. McPoopsalot has around eight friends listed on his page and there are several messages written on the wall on his profile such as, “have a nice poopsie day”.

“Poop” Mathews Band and Red Hot Chili “Poopers” are some of McPoopsalot’s favorite bands and “Girls Don’t Poop” and “When I Make Really Cool Poop” are some of the groups that this member belongs to.

One of the friends of the character created by Armstrong is “Patti Pooper”, who has a picture of a white toilet (with big lips) “smiling” on its profile.

“I have seen a lot of people at other schools with celebrity profiles and fictional characters,” Armstrong said. “I thought I would give it a shot and it is slowly catching on.”

Many celebrity names are listed on Facebook from schools around the country. Jessica Alba, Pamela Anderson, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain and the cartoon character Stewart Griffin are only a few examples.

The cartoon personality Douglas Yancey Funnie is also listed as one of GCSU’s famous or infamous celebrities.

“Personally, I didn’t choose to create a Doug Funnie profile. My friends tricked me; they got into my school E-mail account,” said junior psychology major Thomas Crawford. “They set it up before I made a real account.”

According to Crawford, the fake account started as him, but then it became Douglas Yancey Funnie after he protested that he did not want to be on Facebook.

With a picture of Doug Funnie and his dog on the profile, Funnie has around 36 friends listed. He also describes himself as being in love with Patty Mayonnaise, having an annoying sister named Jody, and claims that his dog is smarter than he is.

While some students think that having a false name on Facebook is a way to have fun with friends, others do not like very much this idea.

“I do not really care if people create these characters, but the people that do it must be desperate to get attention,” said sophomore management major Niclas Szieger.

Liked or disliked, the fake names are there for curious people to see. If the students creating these bogus identities want to get attention, their plan seems to be working.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 14 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry