The Dangers of Social Networking

Sometimes a good idea can turn into something very bad. Social Networking is a good example of this. When it was created it was so that people could share thoughts and ideas with like minded people and keep in touch with distant family. Then it evolved into the monster it is today. It is heavily involved in every aspect of your life now even if you choose not to use it.
How many times do potential employers base their hiring decisions on what they see on social media rather than on the resume? How many stories are there of people losing their jobs, health insurance coverage and even their relationships because of something on social media that seemed totally innocent at the time? It's obscene the level of personal privacy we have given up in the 21st century and I think most of us do not even realize it has happened.

When we post on the Internet we think we are safe and secure in our own living rooms or offices. Perhaps we are sitting in our underwear or in a proper business suit, it really doesn't matter. Why? It's because we are actually not in a safe and private place we are actually in a very crowded room surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of people on all sides, anyone of whom may, or may not, be listening in on your conversation.
Even those who are not on your circle lists (ie: Friends lists in Facebook, followers on Twitter, etc.) can still listen in to your conversations via wall posts and general tweets, responses to other tweets, etc. Think of it this way; if you are in a restaurant with your spouse having a conversation over dinner it is reasonable to assume that if you are not a little more careful those at tables around you, even though not specifically involved in your conversation, can still hear what you are saying correct? Same thing with social media, except it is not so much your volume as it is the 'where' and 'what' you are posting that matters more.

The Illusion of Security
The internet is definitely not secure, no more secure than walking down a street in the middle of the day in a very large city. In such a scenario you are routinely filmed without your knowledge by CCTV, cell phone cameras, regular everyday digital cameras and even the occasional TV camera. The internet is the same way only instead of video, your every keystroke is recorded, every photo you upload is archived. Did you know you cannot 'delete' a photo from Facebook? Oh sure, you can remove it from your profile and the button is labelled 'delete', but Facebook keeps a copy, they always have, it is in your Facebook end-user agreement. Have you read it? Have you read any of the end-user agreements on these social media websites? You should. Did you know you cannot delete your Facebook account? You can deactivate it but it will always be there and hackers love inactive accounts. The password never changes.
On many occasions law enforcement has been able to track people and their activities based purely on internet activities alone. Most of the time this is for a good reason, to be sure, but have you ever asked yourself how they got access to this or that private chat message when they are obviously not a part of the social media circle in question?
Don't forget that every website on the internet has a 'sysadmin' and he can see and watch everything on their network. So, be sure of it, everything you put up on the internet STAYS on the internet for at least a VERY long time and it can be viewed by a wide variety of people for many different reasons. Every time you visit a website your IP address is recorded in a log file somewhere and associated with that website.

The Illusion of Privacy
I once read a story of a woman who suffered from chronic depression. She was given time off from work to deal with the issue and was paid by the medical insurance company while she was off from work. On the advice of a doctor, recommended to her by the medical insurance company, she took a vacation to Mexico to help relieve the stress and depression. She posted pictures of her vacation on Facebook when she got back and the insurance company seen them, they said she was lying and could not possibly be depressed and going on vacation at the same time and cut off her benefits. This woman probably thought she was only posting to her own circle and chances are good the insurance company is not a part of that circle yet they still got the photos. How did that happen? No privacy on the internet.
There are other stories out there as well, teachers who have been disciplined for what they have said on Facebook in private chats or in rooms. Police officers,various other public officials, etc. I won't bore you with them, just remember there is no privacy on the net and there are countless examples that do not relate specifically to government spying or evil agendas. Don't do, post or say anything on the internet you would not do in public.

The Illusion of Safety
The internet is definitely not safe. Especially for your kids. The best piece of advice I can give in this area is to learn how to use the built in firewalls on your routers to block out specific websites from your child or even for your own benefit. Do not just rely on the built-in Parental Controls that comes with software firewalls to work. Most of these do not screen out social media the way it should. In my opinion no one under the age of 18 should even be on social media. It serves no purpose to kids other than to distract them, keep them inside and get them into trouble.
Consider the recent bullying cases involving Facebook. In the old days, before social media, a bullied child would at least normally be safe at home from the bullies but now they get no respite at all, bullying in schools pours over to bullying at home in the form of Facebook threats, insulting tweets and constant insulting and threatening text messages. Don't even get your kid a cell phone, I grew up without one, they are not required. They are distractions at best and tools of aggression and hostility at worst. Constant and unrelenting bullying has lead to suicide among our young people.
And get into reviewing your kids interactions with social media. Save and review internet history listings in your browsers. Learn how to review the log files that are generated by your routers and operating systems. Everything you need to know is probably there and don't be afraid to block websites.
Keep yourself safe too. Watch who you interact with. Too many bad stories out there begin with the words 'They met on the internet'.


The Workplace
If you have multiple machines at your disposal, one at work and one at home then do things like banking and social media interactions from your own home computer. Doing this from work, unless specified in your job description – this should be allowed very cautiously I think, only introduces a whole new level of monitoring into the equation. All corporations monitor their own networks, I know I have been doing the monitoring for years now. Also remember that corporate email accounts and corporate computers are not your own property, they belong to the corporation as do all information on those computers and in those accounts. They can seize it or review it at any given time without giving warning to the employee first. Most of the time you will not even be aware that you are being reviewed. Social Networking does not belong in the workplace.

So let's review then;
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Never do, post or say anything on the Internet that you would not want repeated over and over again and which you would not do in public.
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Everything that goes on the Internet stays on the Internet probably for ever as far as your concerned.
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Social Media should be restricted to the over 18 crowd. This should not be some 'law' or anything, rather a conscious decision of us, as parents. You would protect your child from a pedophile who lived down the street right? Well, they live and hunt on the Internet too.
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Don't get your kids a cell phone and if you really have to then get them a BASIC cell phone, not a sophisticated multi functional one, so that they cannot go on the Internet outside of the house. All cell phones can be tracked by GPS.
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Keep yourself safe. Protect your actual location and arrange to meet anyone for the first time in a very public and well populated place.
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Never do your social networking from a workplace computer. Never do ANY personal computing from a workplace computer. That stuff isn't your and is heavily monitored.
Social Media was not created for evil purposes but, like anything, it can be misused by a wide variety of low lifes and various other forms of riff-raff. Is the government monitoring you on the Internet? In a general sense yes they are. But there are those out there watching you a lot more closely than that. Be aware!
Do you know how to use the filters and firewalls built into most home routers today?
Were you aware that you lose ownership of your photos when you upload them to many social media websites?
Would you restrict your child/teenager from accessing Social Media all together?
Please rate this hub
© 2013 Robin Olsen
Comments
we should not shut down anything because at the end of the day its the choice of the people on what they post and they shouldnt be blaming the hackers who take the photos and do stuff with them,you should blame the people who take the dum pictures and post them.
Yeah but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give your child a phone.
Wow... Its true... I will never use social media. Ever.
This is blown out of proportion. I do agree to a certain extent, but the idea of taking away access to the internet from minors is ridiculous. There are risks in every system, and removing access can make minors even more susceptible due to their rebellious nature. Yes, once you put up something on the internet, you can't delete it completely from the internet, but you can "delete" it, meaning it is taken off the servers. You're also implying that humans have the memory of an elephant, and will never stop repeating something stupid you've posted. There are predators on the internet, but now child exploitation cases have gone down by 63% in the last decade. There are many articles, videos, and campaigns that inform adults, adolescents, and minors about the internet and how to navigate it safely, and location can be turned off with a simple tap. The case of the woman is a screwup on her side. If she wanted to get away with it, she should've used common sense and not posted. The information you put up also has privacy settings, which include Public, Friends, a certain group of people, or Private. Private only allows you, the user, to see the images, and Public allows anyone to see it. The companies also set forth the Privacy Policy and specifically tell you that the information collected by them is collected anonymously and try to put it into aggregate data. The only points I agree with are number five and six. The internet is a big place, and if used correctly, is a tool that can help you so much. You can find educational content not available previously, talk to friends, talk to people with the same interests, organize events, find information, and so much more. If used incorrectly, there can be consequences. In my opinion (or IMO), the pros outweigh the cons. And for number six, it goes without saying. You didn't buy the equipment, the company did. You use the work computer for work purposes, and the company monitors them to be able to track down potential fraudsters. I hope you can respond to this, and have a great day.
-Anas, 14 years of age, 14 years of experience and 9 years of experience with the web.
Oh yes i like it
I agree with restricting the net to adults. Far too many issues result from children unable to cope with the harsh reality of negative social responses. You are right on with this.
Great ideas. very informative.
Thanks
This is excellent information. I agree with you. Nothing is private on the internet. I know someone who lost insurance coverage because of something a "friend" posted about someone else. Your tips are spot on. I especially heed #1 and #2 in your recap of internet security.
The article was useful, great facts and your evidence backs it. if only parents were as strict and caring as they should be by hiding social media from their children.
good one. used to be my essay title
As a victim of stalking, bullying, relentless harassment, identity and copyright theft (photos too) , hacking, via social media that included Facebook, readers please take this hubpage author's sound advice. Especially for your children as well.
Thank you for a fine article.
A good reminder about using caution when we post personal stuff. Thanks for the information.
someone hacking to my computer 15 time and I lost a lot of my document since i play facebook and Cambodian people's told me the dictator from my country want to throw a lot of Cambodia who play on facebook and criticise the dictator prime minister on facebook and some did go to jail and right now Facebook is control by Cambodia country and before we have peace in facebook and some Cambodian inside working for prime minister try to threat my life that i told to much that Cambodia land was lost by Hanoi country and Hanoi country did push the border a lot into Cambodia
I never expected that when i upload photos in my social media accounts I lose ownership on these photos. How come? I'm not really aware of it maybe because I am only active on Facebook and my account is private. And also I don't add people whom I don't personally know plus my photos is restricted to my friends only. It's a bit scary.
It sounds really scary. We should be very careful of what we do in social networking. Thanks for the infos.
I think it's a bad thing.
I feel like this is trying to scare people away from using social media sites because of the few dangers. For instance, we don't know why electricity works, it just does, but people still use it almost all day long. Just because you can drown in water doesn't mean we shouldn't drink it. Everything we do has some sort of risk or danger involved.
Although, I do agree that we need to be careful about what we do and say on the internet.
Very helpful and informative. A little scary too :)
You can never be too careful nowadays. Great hub!
Interesting and very good article but you can delete Facebook. Here's how:
this is a bad website.
Very helpful as a new user i find
this imformative
Thank you. I was reading the privacy policy for instagram and found the following a bit troubling:
Instagram, its Affiliates, or Service Providers may transfer information that we collect about you, including personal information across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. If you are located in the European Union or other regions with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, please note that we may transfer information, including personal information, to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction.
I just read your article. I was wondering if you ever heard of glom.com? I recently stumbled across an ad about it. I went to the site and the privacy policy satisfies my needs as well as bunch of other concerns such as who sees what. From what I saw, you can do just about everything you would need to do as far as social media is concerned. If you have heard of this site could you let me know what you think?
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