Let's face it. Our parents, teachers, police officers, etc. had that talk with us when we were in grade 5-8. They gather us as a group and explain to us the dangers, what to do, what not to do, and how to avoid trouble. Yes, that talk. The social media talk.
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| Make sure you check your privacy settings for ALL social media accounts! |
The message teachers try to tell us at a young age, isn't to not get a social networking account. Hey, I have ... a few. It's fun, entertaining, and it helps you keep in touch with family and friends, close or far away. It's basically a tool for communication. There's no harm in having an account, right? It just keeps you in the loop, and makes it easier for you to talk to people you know when you can't see them face-to-face. My privacy settings for my accounts are set for 'friends only' or 'protected' which basically means that only people I've approved can see what I post. Nothing is made public for the whole world to see. I have exactly thought about what information I'm providing access for others too see though. Basically, they can only see what I post. So whatever I post about, is what they can know about. Also the simple details I provide to complete my profile is accessible including my name and birthday. However, all this information they have access to is pretty much useless as long as I choose my words wisely.
What I post has a huge impact on what my 'friends' or 'followers' can know about. Posting things about how tough this unit is, or my new dog or even a simple happy birthday are safe posts, simply because no personal information that could ultimately put my life in danger is being provided. Some unsafe posts could include the school I go to, my bank account number, where I am right now, my home address, etc. These are considered unsafe posts because I'm basically publicizing information that bad people could use and put my life in danger.
We all need to become responsible users of social media. We need to watch what we post. Is this something I want my friends to know about? Is this something that could get me into trouble? Would I want my parents to see this? If someone said this about me, would I like it? Could people do something with this information that could endanger me? These are all questions we should ask ourselves before we post something. We should also change our privacy settings; make sure only people you know can view your profile, your posts, and your information. For all you know, a stranger could be stalking your information right now, waiting for that one stupid post that could led them right to your front door. Finally, just remember that what you post stays there forever, even if you press that 'delete' button. Once you press that 'post' button there's no way you can backspace the post off the whole world wide web. It's important to be a responsible social media user because basically, irresponsibility will endanger yourself. It might impact your friend or family's life too, but ultimately, one wrong post with just a bit more extra information needed, could put yourself in danger, or ruin your entire life. Is 140 characters, really worth it?
All of this comes back to that day we were sitting in that classroom, thinking, "this is such a waste of time, things like this only happen on T.V." We were probably half asleep, barely paying attention. WELL WAKE UP! BECAUSE THIS CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE! And this is basically your second chance to avoid getting caught into a mix that will ruin your life.
What I post has a huge impact on what my 'friends' or 'followers' can know about. Posting things about how tough this unit is, or my new dog or even a simple happy birthday are safe posts, simply because no personal information that could ultimately put my life in danger is being provided. Some unsafe posts could include the school I go to, my bank account number, where I am right now, my home address, etc. These are considered unsafe posts because I'm basically publicizing information that bad people could use and put my life in danger.
We all need to become responsible users of social media. We need to watch what we post. Is this something I want my friends to know about? Is this something that could get me into trouble? Would I want my parents to see this? If someone said this about me, would I like it? Could people do something with this information that could endanger me? These are all questions we should ask ourselves before we post something. We should also change our privacy settings; make sure only people you know can view your profile, your posts, and your information. For all you know, a stranger could be stalking your information right now, waiting for that one stupid post that could led them right to your front door. Finally, just remember that what you post stays there forever, even if you press that 'delete' button. Once you press that 'post' button there's no way you can backspace the post off the whole world wide web. It's important to be a responsible social media user because basically, irresponsibility will endanger yourself. It might impact your friend or family's life too, but ultimately, one wrong post with just a bit more extra information needed, could put yourself in danger, or ruin your entire life. Is 140 characters, really worth it?
All of this comes back to that day we were sitting in that classroom, thinking, "this is such a waste of time, things like this only happen on T.V." We were probably half asleep, barely paying attention. WELL WAKE UP! BECAUSE THIS CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE! And this is basically your second chance to avoid getting caught into a mix that will ruin your life.
What strangers can find out about someone just by looking at their twitter or facebook account is dangerous. A lot more people should be more knowledgeable on the things that you talked about. Things that you post online is not necessarily private and could be accessed by anyone. Even if your privacy settings are set right, anything that you put up on the internet can be hacked into and seen by someone. I agree that people should be more careful about what they post and should be a bit more worried about their online security.
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