With the influx of social networking sites on the internet more and more people are becoming “connected”.
With websites like Facebook and Twitter people are allowing themselves to be linked to friends on direct levels, and in some cases total strangers just to get the friends or followers.
When someone posts an update to their account, all of the people associated with them are notified and able to see what the person is doing.
Furthermore, this also occurs with photos being uploaded, comments being made, or even achievements made for online gaming applications.
Personal privacy is becoming a thing of the past and voyeurism is starting to be a more acceptable means for people.
With Facebook and Twitter accounts allowing people to post their every movement, (should the person decide to write and post them), there is little privacy in society anymore.
What is scary about this, however, is the fact that on Facebook at least, people who made comments about someone’s post then allow their grouping of friends to see what that person has posted.
Can Social Networking Sites Really Cause You Problems?
For example, if someone creates a photo album and one of their friends comments on a picture all of their friends are now able to see that same photo album whether they are friends of the person who created it or not. This allows people to see into others lives without consequence and from the comfort of their own home.
For whatever reason, society allows this to happen without worry or fear. People do not seem to care that this occurs, nor do they seem bothered by it.
Moreover, when a person goes through someone’s photo album they can not only see all the pictures in it, but also have the ability to copy and save them to their own computer to look at time and time again. All the while, the original person posting the pictures has no idea what is happening with their photos.
This can prove to be a dangerous tool for people in society who have disorders, mental illness, or criminal records, as they can, for all intense purposes, stalk someone or collect photos of children.
Stop And Think Before Posting Anything To Social Networking Sites
While this occurs, it all seems legal and acceptable by society who either do not think of the negative factors or just don’t care, or just accepts the fact that it is one of the ‘side effects’ of being connected to their friends. Even more mind-boggling is the degree of separation where people find out how closely linked they are to others in the world.
People need to be more aware of what they are doing on social networking sites and the dependency that is following it.
In the current school system there is not a student around who can not go more than forty-five minutes without the need to check their Facebook page. Beyond the addiction factor with social networking sites, the uncertainty of what happens to the content once it is published should be a concern.
People should certainly be more aware and conscious of what they put on the Social Networking Sites, both in word form, and especially in picture form.
John Soares says
I agree that too many people put too much personal information on Facebook and it could easily cause them major problems.
I don’t put anything on Facebook or Twitter that I wouldn’t want to see in my local newspaper.
ben from professional networking says
Sharing personal information went from being impossible, to weird, to commonplace. Whether you’re a kid growing up and you don’t know what it’s like to live in a world without social media or you’re an adult who over time has become used to it.
It’s necessary to keep your guard up against sharing too much and arming those who mean to take advantage of you.
AffiliateX says
Hi Ben..
Yes spot on… We have all become conditioned by the use of sites like this. Now no one really stops and thinks about what they are revealing. This actually also surprises me a bit with so much mistrust and scams going on around the Internet the one place that you should be guarded about information is social networking sites.
Koi says
I’ve seen photos on my friend’s page that don’t even include them in the actual photo. My friend was just tagged in it because the post-er wanted everyone to see the photo, regardless if they were in it or not. I agree that some people share personal information and just because they’re “friends” with someone, gives them the right to do anything with the “friendship”. A great tip is to never update your status with anything pertaining to you not being home. I heard of a story where someone’s home was broken into because they tweeted that they were leaving to Mexico. Ever since that, I realized I had to be careful what I include in my personal information and updates.
AffiliateX says
Yes you need to be mindful of what you post on any social networking sites and as you said especially about your personal activities…
To many people have become very complacent about there social activities so much so that there is no thought put into anything they post because they are under the very strange illusion that everyone is their friend. This is a very dangerous game to play.
How many people would you walk up to in the street and give all your personal details to and then tell them you are away from the house for the day, which is what people are doing on social networks.