The evolution of social media has drastically changed the type and amount of personal information available on the internet. From current physical locations tracked through the use of smart phones to post to Facebook to incriminating or private photos appearing on popular social media sites - sensitive information is abundant. Many people are not aware of how to keep such things private and this issue continues to get increasingly complicated; so much so that as stated in an article by Rebecca Greenfield - a family photo of Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook's founder was accidentally leaked onto public Twitter. (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/60313/) If the sister of possibly the most popular social media site cannot even manage to keep her photos private, what hope is there for the average person?
The only true way to keep your private information off the internet is not to post it in the first place. People need to learn to keep their sensitive information to themselves because once something is posted online, it is there forever. If adamant lovers of social media insist on continuing to post, then privacy filters need to become more strict in order to keep photos, text, and other data in the intended circles. Not only do these filters need to be more strict but there must be a push to educate the population on how to use these tools, how to maintain their privacy, and perhaps a reminder what might not be a good idea to post in the first place.
I believe, knowing the potential consequences of using the Internet, that it may be worthwhile for more people to spend money on services such as the one described in the article about Petraeus to help prevent people from hacking accounts and stealing information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. You should always watch what you post on the internet. Being responsible and using common sense can go a long way when it comes to privacy and security on the world wide web.
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