This
week for the IT blog, I am able to discuss any topic about technology. For this
week I thought about social networking sites and their risks.
Although
I have only recently started playing around with social networking cites I have
already been having a bit of fun with them. The main reason is that I am not
afraid to let my opinions known online, because I don’t have to worry about
being judged in public. But I see and have heard that that some people either
take this ability too far or that they use it against others online.
Starting
in high school I started hearing about how people could take advantage of these
sites: bullies, stalkers, child molesters, the list goes on an on. I heard that
these people use these sites to either pretend to be someone else, or to find
information on people who do not keep the information private. Although I knew
that this was happening at the time, I did not realize how easy it was to do
for these people, and it is still very easy.
Some
of the best ways to prevent people form being taken advantage of through these
sites is by being careful with what a person posts and what information they
make public. There are some general rules to keep in mind, and although these
rules were made for the business owner in mind, they work well for the average
person as well.
First
of all, be discreet, do not post anything that could get you unwanted
attention. Things like your daily routines, home address, and family
information are not the best things to post publically (Security).
Next
is, be skeptical, not everyone tells the truth, in fact treat everything you
read with a grain of salt. Networking sites do not have any form of lie
detection, so the person has to be the judge of truths and lies (Security).
Be
thoughtful, while the Internet is a very liberating tool, making inappropriate
comments, or just throwing a comment out there on a whim could come back to
bite you in a very real way, not just through the Internet (Security).
Be
professional and don’t post videos or pictures that show you in a bad light.
First impressions are powerful in the real world, and Facebook is another way
people are profiled in the real world (Security).
Be
wary of other users. Once again people lie, and you really don’t know who a
person really is until you meet that person. On these sites a person could be lying
about their age, sex, appearance, practically everything really (Security).
Finally,
be aware of the privacy policies of the site. Make sure you are aware of what
information is really private and what is not at risk of being told to others
or sold away (Security).
All of this does not mean to stop using
Facebook and other similar sites,
but it is a reminder that the internet is not a perfectly secure tool.
"The Security Risks of
Social Networks." Free Product
Comparisons and Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/fyi/security-risks-social-networks>.
I do think that safety concerns are one of the downsides of technology, but as you say, it is up to the user to decide how safe they want to be. I think though, the more we become attached to technology, the less we will think about online privacy and what harm posting certain things can do to our reputation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people need to monitor the things that they are putting on these social networks. People are putting way too much personal information on the internet. The sites are not as private as people think. People do need to pay more attention to the privacy settings because the can protect them from predators that are online.
ReplyDeleteIt annoys me how much people post about there day. "Just got out of the shower." And the pictures so girls post of themselves make them look like hookers. No one should put so much about themselves on the internet. Privacy settings were made for a reason and should be used more because you never know what creep is going to see your Facebook or twitter.
ReplyDeleteI believe people do not fully think about the stuff they put on a social media network. Jobs and businesses look at your Facebook/Twitter/Myspace to check up on the type of person you are. If you type disturbing stuff on the Internet, do you really think that business will want you to work for them? I don't think so because you are a face representing their business. So you might not have done anything wrong, had the perfect interview, but had stuff on your Twitter that the boss did not appreciate. People need to be careful.
ReplyDelete