WABI interviews Rosenbaum about new Facebook feature
WABI (Channel 5) interviewed Judith Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine, for a report on a new Facebook feature. The feature, available to some users who have the most recent version of the Messenger app for IOS and Android, will allow messages to be deleted within 10 minutes of sending. “Facebook right now is more popular among the older crowd whereas the younger adults are much more active on a platform like Snapchat, and I think Facebook is trying to keep that younger crowd on board, and they’re trying to tailor to them by providing them the ability to edit what they say,” Rosenbaum said. However, the new feature just prevents the message from reaching the intended recipient and does not permanently delete the message itself from cyberspace. “That is something that everybody just needs to be aware of, that sure, you can now retract a message, but it is still out there somewhere. It doesn’t mean it went away forever,” said Rosenbaum, who also recommends checking privacy settings on Facebook once a month or a couple times a year, and thinking before posting. “Would you shout this off a rooftop? If the answer is ‘no,’ then you probably shouldn’t put it on Facebook.”