It is no doubt that many people of all generations are using social media sites these days. Even my grandma has a Facebook! Not to mention, a lot of her friends have a Facebook as well. Although social media is great for keeping in touch with one another, it has its dangers. When we post things on the internet, there are a variety of people who can see what we post. Our "friends" can definitely see what we post, but who else is seeing our daily lives?
My mom often lectures me about my privacy settings on Facebook or Instagram. I have always understood why she tells me to make my page as private as possible, but its never really been important to me. I usually just nod my head and brush it off. Then one day she told me to do an experiment to prove why it is so critical to make every aspect of my Facebook page private. She told me to type in a random name and go to the page of someone I did not know. She then asked me to tell her all the information I know about that person just by looking at her page. I was able to see where she lives, where she used to live, where she went to high school, where she is going to college, who she is in a relationship with, and when her birthday is. On top of all that, I was able to see exactly what she looked like thanks to her pictures. It amazed me. If I was a stalker or psycho person (which I am not), then I would easily be able to find this girl that I don't even know. It never really hit me how easy it would be for someone to find me if they wanted to.
On Youtube, I saw a guy perform a similar experiment only he was using Instagram. He would search random people's Instagram around the area where he lived and find where they were at based on a picture they posted. He would go up to them and say their name and talk about things in their life that he saw from their pictures. Like if one of them had a picture posted of a dog, he would mention their dog, or if they posted a picture on their birthday, he would mention their birthday. Many of the people were creeped out, some were very mad. After he told them what he had done, some of them immediately made their pictures private. A lot of the people took it very well and thought it was a cool idea to get people to be more careful about who they share their information with.
I now have my social media pages completely private so that someone who is not my friend can't see anything about my life. It is important to protect ourselves when using the internet. Make sure that if you post something, it is something you do not mind a complete stranger knowing about you. How private is your life?
My mom often lectures me about my privacy settings on Facebook or Instagram. I have always understood why she tells me to make my page as private as possible, but its never really been important to me. I usually just nod my head and brush it off. Then one day she told me to do an experiment to prove why it is so critical to make every aspect of my Facebook page private. She told me to type in a random name and go to the page of someone I did not know. She then asked me to tell her all the information I know about that person just by looking at her page. I was able to see where she lives, where she used to live, where she went to high school, where she is going to college, who she is in a relationship with, and when her birthday is. On top of all that, I was able to see exactly what she looked like thanks to her pictures. It amazed me. If I was a stalker or psycho person (which I am not), then I would easily be able to find this girl that I don't even know. It never really hit me how easy it would be for someone to find me if they wanted to.
On Youtube, I saw a guy perform a similar experiment only he was using Instagram. He would search random people's Instagram around the area where he lived and find where they were at based on a picture they posted. He would go up to them and say their name and talk about things in their life that he saw from their pictures. Like if one of them had a picture posted of a dog, he would mention their dog, or if they posted a picture on their birthday, he would mention their birthday. Many of the people were creeped out, some were very mad. After he told them what he had done, some of them immediately made their pictures private. A lot of the people took it very well and thought it was a cool idea to get people to be more careful about who they share their information with.
I now have my social media pages completely private so that someone who is not my friend can't see anything about my life. It is important to protect ourselves when using the internet. Make sure that if you post something, it is something you do not mind a complete stranger knowing about you. How private is your life?
This is so true! I am so thankful that my parent's monitored what I posted on social media growing up, because it has payed off! Interviewers will check that when you are applying for jobs in the future!
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