The Internet can be a scary, scary place.

"Google" an old acquaintance some time. I dare you.

That's proof right there that the Web can be evil.

We have turned "Google" into a verb. The English language is deteriorating before our very eyes, which have become bloodshot from staring at a flickering screen all day.

And we have turned punctuation into a way to show facial expressions.

That makes me :-(

See what I mean?

In a span of about 15 minutes, I discovered a high school classmate was going through a home foreclosure and was suffering with the skin disease melasma.

Did I really need to know that?

That was in just 15 minutes. Who knows what I might have found out about my old classmate on Facebook or Twitter?

The Internet is even more perilous for college and pro athletes, or for those who work for professional franchises.

Just ask the poor dude who used to guard the West gate at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The part-time security employee for the Eagles was fired when he expressed his disdain for the club on his Facebook page.

He was upset the Eagles' brass allowed safety Brian Dawkins to leave via free agency, and he let his friends know about it on his Facebook status.

Bad move. Your friends might be interested in your sullen attitude, but your boss might not care so much.

A college football player was burned recently when his girlfriend hacked into his Facebook profile and posted that he was going to declare for the NFL draft.

Intimate details can be gleaned about someone after just a few keystrokes.

Somewhere, George Orwell is smiling.

I'm sure right now on Facebook or Twitter — or some other social networking site of the same ilk — there is a nugget about a pro or amateur athlete that we are better off not knowing.

Both Facebook and Twitter ask the same seemingly innocent question of its users.

"What are you doing?"

The answers may shock us. For instance:

•

Jay Cutler ... wondering how many childish fits it takes to get traded. Maybe I should hold my breath.•

Geno Auriemma ... my army of genetically altered athletes will win the NCAA women's tournament before turning their sights on conquering the world, one sovereign nation at a time.•

Manny Ramirez ... really, my right hamstring hurts, no, my left, no, my right.•

Matt Jones ... crap. Back to flipping burgers at the Sonic in Fort Smith, Ark.•

Terrell Owens ... get your parka ready.•

BenWallace ... if LeBron doesn't win the MVP, it will be a shamockery. Besides that, it will be a stupidiculous and preposterageous.•

John Calipari ... We're not a No. 1?!? The NCAA is full of No. 2.•

Charlie Villanueva ... coach said I can't tweet at halftime any more. Man, that's crazier than Joaquin Phoenix.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.