Ding, dong, privacy is gone!
These days, I feel as though I am no longer safe on websites such as Facebook and Twitter. I recently googled myself, and I was surprised to see that my Twitter picture popped up with all of my information. If anyone with access to a computer can find these things about me in a matter of seconds, then how safe is my life in the virtual world? Better yet, with more hackers and trolls and such out there on the Internet, will my privacy and life be at risk? Should I just quit social media altogether? Yes, I find that I haven’t really cared in the past. Like many of my friends, I don’t feel as if I have any incriminating or uncomfortable things on most of my profiles on major networks. What would my “likes” and “favorite TV Shows” do to people? After all, it’s not as if someone is out there to get me.
Although I am most definitely not the type to be paranoid about such things, I am starting to become aware of my
These days, I feel as though I am no longer safe on websites such as Facebook and Twitter. I recently googled myself, and I was surprised to see that my Twitter picture popped up with all of my information. If anyone with access to a computer can find these things about me in a matter of seconds, then how safe is my life in the virtual world? Better yet, with more hackers and trolls and such out there on the Internet, will my privacy and life be at risk? Should I just quit social media altogether? Yes, I find that I haven’t really cared in the past. Like many of my friends, I don’t feel as if I have any incriminating or uncomfortable things on most of my profiles on major networks. What would my “likes” and “favorite TV Shows” do to people? After all, it’s not as if someone is out there to get me.
Although I am most definitely not the type to be paranoid about such things, I am starting to become aware of my virtual life. In a few years, I’ll be looking for jobs, and more and more companies these days turn to social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. to find information on potential employees. And if they do, God forbid, find something they don’t like, then your chances of employment decrease drastically.
I don’t feel safe thinking that it is possible for colleges and companies to look through your stuff and find stupid posts you wrote once upon a time when you were foolish and immature. Isn’t social media just an outlet for most people? Isn’t it a place to, yes, stay connected with friends and family, but also be yourself or a more daring, crazy version of yourself behind a computer or a phone? I find that I can post some pretty crazy pictures of myself on Facebook. Nothing too wild and dangerous, but just pictures of my friends and I swimming in the ocean at midnight or posing at a club. Of course, to me, those pictures are innocent, but it’s all about perspective. One person’s definition of fun and innocent is not the same as another’s. In life, most things are up for subjectivity, and everyone has a different viewpoint on a certain topic, idea, or subject.
Thankfully, there are solutions to social media privacy issues. Websites such as Sgrouples, which plays on the word, “scruples”, have finally seen the light of day! These social media networks stress great importance on privacy and recognize the fact that in real life, one does not have 2,000 friends that they hang out with all the time. So, yes, privacy may be decreasing, but it is not gone. Though I feel safer on Sgrouples, I still have a few concerns…
So here’s my question: is social media worth it? Do the pros outweigh the cons?
And is privacy really worth the price of a virtual outlet?
