When we surf the internet we often reveal a lot of information about ourselves. Nowadays, there are a lot of ways in which personal information can be obtained without your permission and knowledge. So from these factors, internet privacy came into account which means concerns and strategies that people must use to protect their information that are meant to be private. Some of these ways that are used to collect information are Cookies, Web browsers, Search engines etc. However my focus in this report is mainly on social networking sites and privacy.
Being in the 21st century, social networking has acquired the greatest popularity and people using these networks are increasing dramatically .Such websites are used for sharing information, getting your idea out to the world and many more. Nowadays, “information is being spread faster through social network sites than real life network” (Rip , S 2008 ). Facebook , twitter, myspace, blooger are examples of these Social network sites and they are now among the most visited websites globally. Despite the advantages that you could gain through these networks such as staying in touch with people and building a network of contacts, on the other hand there are many disadvantages that must be taken into consideration because social networks are easy to access and the users are not aware of the nature and the size of the people accessing their profiles. This can result in some privacy threats for the members and their personal information that they upload to these social networks that can be used by people for illegal activities. Moreover, many people pretend to be someone else and use other people’s personal information. people can use it to stalk and harass others that’s why we must be careful and take some procedures that keeps you on the safe track. “Most users are not aware that they can modify their privacy settings and unless they modify them their information is open to the public”..(Guo . M 2011 ) When registering to the social network site there are some tips that you should take into consideration, this can be done by keeping in mind that some information should be kept private, you should understand what information can harm you and what details you choose to share on your profile. Beware of providing personal information and always remember to read the privacy policy provided by the websites before agreeing as sometimes such policies might mislead people and mention basic stuff that they might not be responsible about as their main aim is to inform customers. As an example Facebook’s privacy policy considered that “Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other users with whom you share your information. We cannot guarantee that only authorized persons will view your information. We cannot ensure that information you share on Facebook will not become publicly available. We are not responsible for third party circumvention of privacy setting or security measures on Facebook “(fb website). Furthermore, because the social network sites have marketers that obtain more information about the users and give this information to these partners whom they use in their marketing strategies, and these users are not in a position to bargain about the terms at which they disclose their information so they leave the users vulnerable to harms.
Social networks offer new opportunities for communication but also lead to new privacy concerns. While it is a great tool for keeping in touch with others, you need to use it properly and that is by raising awareness of privacy and adjust your privacy setting before you become member of these social networks or don`t join until you feel ready to do so, also remember that internet is a public network, if you are connected protect yourself.
References
Cheever, J , 2011 ,
Dangers of Social Networking Sites.
http://www.life123.com/technology/internet/online-social-networking/dangers-of-social-networking-sites.shtml
Rip, D , S 2008 ,
Privacy in Social Network sites. http://privacyinsocialnetworksites.wordpress.com/
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