Thought for the Day: Social Media Isn't Private

[BuffyElevated]

Let's face it; no matter how many privacy settings you tweak for your Facebook page, Twitter account, Tumblr, etc., social media is not private. This is the Internet; if someone wants to find out what you're talking about, even if you have them blocked, there are ways to do it.
With this in mind, be careful what you post on your personal social networking page. It's never a good idea to post things like home addresses, phone numbers, etc. but with Be Nice on the Internet Week in mind, it's also a great idea not to use your personal page to vent or post inappropriate content, especially if it's directed at someone else. Even though it's your page/blog, it's really important to think before you post. Are you comfortable with it coming back to bite you in the behind, so to speak, if your post is seen by the wrong person? If so, then go ahead, but be warned that there are very real consequences to using your social media platforms to vent frustration or cyberbully someone.
And just like here on BB, if you ever see something that's offensive or problematic in any way, report it. It's not "tattling"; it's simply helping to keep the Internet a better place.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Another good thing to keep in mind is that potential employers do look at Social Networking sites to learn about you...so be careful what's on there.

🙂

 

[BuffyElevated]

Yes, definitely... One of my friends got fired for something she posted on her personal Facebook page.

 

[Taake]

Agreed, there was a big to-do here in Sweden before when a guy got fired for wearing something inappropriate on his facebook pictures (he worked with children) and even though there were two camps (those who thought his firing was justified and those who thought he had the right to online privacy) it did cost him his job and he didn't get it back :S

So some caution is to be adviced. 🙂

 

[Nix]

I agree be very careful what you say and portray to others online as employers do check these things on a regular basis. Also for your own safety.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I think I should think more about this sometimes. I can be very political (never in a mean though. I hope) when it comes to certain things, which might not always be a good thing.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

That's why I wouldn't write things about me, like personal info about myself that can draw fire at me. I'd share my personal details, but up to some degree. It's one of the reasons why I don't wanna open an account at Facebook.

 

[Jules]

I dont know how true this is but I'm sure I read that a lot of fraud was taking place because people were posting address and DOB on their facebook pages. It is a very dangerous environment on the 'net and everyone needs to be careful.

I'm a member of Facebook but I hardly ever go on and if I do its only to see what other people are posting. I'm amazed at some of the things that go on on there, like family arguements or break ups with partners. I know its a memebers personal choice to vent on the 'net but its never pleasant to read about those things.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

There was a group of kids in my secondary school who got into trouble because there was pictures of them smoking on a social media site in the school uniform.

No one seemed to ask why the teacher was looking up students accounts!

 

[This Year's Girl]

It's true, social networks arent always private. You never know who might be looking... 😀

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXK0AnWGXwE"]Ellen Checks Her Audience's Facebook! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[sk]

It's not so much what I might post that worries me the most on social network sites, that I can of course control. It's what others might post that I'm mostly concerned about.

Not all think about stuff like this. What one person think is an okay picture to show I might think is a total nightmare to show.

/SK

 

[sisterofmercy]

To be fair, you can control what content is shown to those who aren't your friend on Facebook now, so if you don't protect your profile properly then it's your own fault if anything happens really. I barely use my Facebook and my Twitter account doesn't have my last name but I don't really say anything potentially incriminating.

It's common sense really.

 

[This Year's Girl]

To be fair, you can control what content is shown to those who aren't your friend on Facebook now, so if you don't protect your profile properly then it's your own fault if anything happens really. I barely use my Facebook and my Twitter account doesn't have my last name but I don't really say anything potentially incriminating.

It's common sense really.

I understand how you are thinking, and I agree to some extent. But even information that you think are only reaching the friends of your choosing on facebook can reach others too. You never know who your friends are friends with. 🙂

Also, I put a lot of stuff up on the internet when I was younger, and didn't have as much sense as I do now. I took those old blogs and stuff down, but information has a way of still showing up sometimes.

I don't think people always have themselves to blame when it comes to sharing certain information. Sometimes it's the people that are using that information in a certain way that are the ones that are doing the wrong thing.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

I'm really not careful about privacy online, and I know I should be...but I'm just not.
I think it's because nothing I put on my Facebook is ever particularly serious, and I don't have children, so I'm not bothered about people seeing my photos.

It got my into trouble with my boyfriend, but only over stuff I'd said when I was single.

 

[Buffy Summers]

And remember that privacy settings only work if you know everyone you're friends with. If you friend anyone who sends you a friend request, you've defeated the purpose.

🙂

 

[Cast No Shadow]

And remember that privacy settings only work if you know everyone you're friends with. If you friend anyone who sends you a friend request, you've defeated the purpose.

🙂

This is totally true. My cousin's cousin added me on Facebook yesterday, and I think I may have only ever seen him twice in my life, and never spoken to him, so I don't know him. However I felt obliged to accept, even though I was a bit uncomfortable about it (I have no idea why he would add me) because I didn't want any backlash from people.

That says a lot about the effect Facebook has on people, where it could actually start a rift :/ pathetic.

 

[BuffyElevated]

To be fair, you can control what content is shown to those who aren't your friend on Facebook now, so if you don't protect your profile properly then it's your own fault if anything happens really. I barely use my Facebook and my Twitter account doesn't have my last name but I don't really say anything potentially incriminating.

It's common sense really.

I understand what you're saying, but like I said in the original post, there are ways around the privacy controls and such. For instance, if someone posts something about a particular person. Even if that particular person isn't on their Facebook page, a mutual friend could still tell them about it and even let them log onto their account so they can see the offensive material. People are great at spying these days, it seems.

 

[A Flawed Fashion]

I try to stay private (at least a little bit). I have my A Flawed Fashion account across the internet and it isn't tied to my real life, but then I've made pretty good friends with a few people on the internet who have access to my personal twitter and facebook accounts so I know I occasional have conversations with them in spaces that can make it possible for people either from real life to find me on the internet or internet people to find me in real life.

But I generally try not to post anything too crazy on the internet so that if people in real life did find my "a flawed fashion" account, they wouldn't find anything too insane. I'd like to think I don't have any too insane thoughts anyway. Just a little bit too much fangirling. 😉

I did manage to track down my own cousin one day through about three user names she uses just because of one comment she made on Facebook. I googled something she mentioned doing, found her user name on youtube, deviant art etc and none of those pages had her real information listed. Its pretty easy to track people down.

 

[Willow My Love]

I don't really post much on my Facebook that could be seen as offensive. I went through and deleted a bunch of people not too long ago, something I do regularly. I mostly play games and talk to me British friends and my family in California.

My twitter I've made private. People can't follow me unless I say so. I'm working on cleaning out my follower list too. I don't have my last name on there either.

 

[SlayerFest]

I have cousin who is a year younger than me and she posts the most inappropriate stuff on her facebook page. She's friends with her mom, cousins, great aunts, grandparents, etc. yet she feels like her privacy is being invaded when her family has to sit her down and practically have an intervention haha that kills me. Or when people online get into a heated discussion and someone else chimes in...there's always that one person who says, "Well I wasn't talking to you!" in my opinion, you're talking to everyone when you discuss something in a public forum. You have no privacy online. That's why I don't get "password protected" blogs. Nothing online is private...even with a password. That's just my opinion, but nothing online feels truly secure. So yes, be safe online and don't post anything that will make your future self cringe (that's always inevitable though, isn't it?).