„Facebook-parties“ – a few clicks between fun and drama!

Invitations via Facebook have lead to escalating parties in various countries over the last few months, mostly because the hosts had forgotten to make the event private. In some instances, several thousands of people had accepted the invitation, leading to massive police operations in residential areas and cordoned-off neighbourhoods. In early June, a girl by the name of Thessa in Hamburg, Germany, wanted to celebrate her 16th birthday – she went into hiding after 1,600 revellers arrived in her neighbourhood.

„This is a new form of youth culture“, Ralf Steger, Minister of the Interior of the German state of Northrhine-Westphalia, told the German press agency dpa. After recent riots at a Facebook party in the German city of Wupptertal, however, he advised to thoroughly check the privacy settings when announcing a bash over the social net.

As soon as an invitation goes live via Facebook, it can easily go viral and unleash a snowball effect. The parents of the girl from Hamburg, for example, found out about the skyrocketing number of guests and quickly cancelled the party. By that time, however, the party had been reposted and spread over other online channels such as Twitter, and more than 15,000 people had already „confirmed“ they would attend.

Despite public announcements that the party was called off, still one in ten showed up – wearing party theme shirts and singing „Where is Thessa?“. According to the Associated Press, eleven people were detained, one police officer was injured, a dozen girls wearing flip-flops cut their feet and two small fires had to be extinguished. „Nonetheless, the party was a hit“, police spokesman Mirko Schreiber confirmed.

Last autumn a girl from Sydney, Australia, was in for an even worse drama. Within only a few days, her invitation had fetched 200,000 confirmations from potential party goers. Her party announcement, also sent out via Facebook, included related private details such as address and was swiftly reposted by an anonymous „friend“. On the announced day however, the police patrolled the neighbourhood and no reveller saw her house from the inside. Legislation differs from country to country, but most often costs for the police operation can be transferred to the party host.

eSafety experts recommend to instead send party invites via e-mail and only to close and trusted friends. If done by Facebook, however, the number of guests can be restricted. Click „Create an event“ – be careful not to send your private data or location of your home in an open invitation! It’s advisable to not give a phone number at all. Uncheck „Anyone can view and RSVP (public event). RSVP here meaning: „Please respond (répondez, s’il vous plait)“. Before clicking „Guests can invite friends“, make sure that you really only invite people you trust. Leave „Show the guest list on the Event Page“ checked – it gives you a good overview of people who have already accepted to come.

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