Students like you are plugged into their social networks more
than ever, and probably have a lot of fun with it. However, there are people
using your online accounts to digitally gathering up your personal information.
Part of being a responsible consumer is knowing that companies, hackers, and
other unsavory types are watching you and your profile.
When you are on a social networking site, you share
(whether you want to or not) the following:
- Your photos
- Your age and gender
- You biographical information, like were you go to school, where you work, and where you live
- Status updates and posts
- Your friends and other contacts
- What you like to read, buy, and do for fun
- Where you are RIGHT NOW!
Social media sites get all this information legally and
really easily. Other people can find all this out, too. "Public" posts
can be found and used by anyone. Most networking sites allow you to post some
things as "private" and make your profile accessible to only your
friends. But there is a limit on what you can make private. Some groups can
still view your full profile by filing third-party
applications with sites.
There are a lot of people who want your information. Advertisers want it to better target
their ads toward your interests. Third-party software developers want to use
your profile to personalize apps. Scammers could use your online information to
steal your identity, or implant malware on your (or a friend's) computer.
To protect
yourself from those looking to get too much information about you, try some of
these methods:
- Be aware of your social network's privacy policy and when and if it changes.
- DO NOT EVER post your address, phone number, email address, or birth date!
- Delete your server's "cookies" after you leave a social networking site. This helps to prevent electronic tracking of what sites you visit.
- Be careful of what you post online. If you don't want your future boss to see it, then it shouldn't go on your profile.
READERS, what do you think?
Do the benefits of social networking
(building professional connections, getting discounts, etc.) outweigh the
risks?
Do you plan to change how much you share online?
Reference
Fact Sheet 35: Social Networking Privacy: How to be Safe,
Secure, and Social. (2012, August). Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Retrieved
September 11, 2012, from https://www.privacyrights.org/social-networking-privacy#public.
Great things to think about. The social media is used for so many things and something I think we forget just how much it public information and how it can be used. As a parent to teens that use these sites, I am careful to monitor their actions, checking security and sometime forget about my own. This was a great reminder to be careful and mindful of what goes on in cyberspace.
ReplyDeleteKelly McD.