Like Mom Always Says, Safety First

Like Mom Always Says, Safety First Photo by west.m via Flickr.com People are beginning to put their whole life on these social media sites and not thinking about who is actually reading these boards and what they are or can do with this information. Think about it, as I sit here right now typing this I have one tab open for Facebook and another tab open for Twitter. Just by browsing through them I can see all kinds of “check-ins” about where people are at and who they are with, and if that wasn’t enough, it also shows on viewers a map on how to get there. While it may be fun to check-in with all the people you are hanging out with at times it can be dangerous. What if you and your roommates are all going out of town for the weekend and you just let the whole world know via a status or a tweet? Now your apartment, house, or dorm room is free and clear for the taking. Not even just check-ins, but the most dangerous thing about not being smart on social media sites are all the pictures after pictures uploaded. Each picture showing a different aspect of your life, or of someone else’s life, and while some maybe cute pictures of you and your little sister or posing with your friends, others can get very dangerous and even incriminating. People may think that it’s cool to post all kinds of pictures of themselves at the bar or tailgates drinking, but what most people don’t realize that once you put something on the internet it is there forever. You can delete all you want but with intent archives posts and pictures from as far back as you can remember are still stored out there. And with this ever coming popularity of social media, many business now use social media background checks along with other factors in deciding on whether or not you will get the job. So all the comments, updates, tweets, and pictures that you have uploaded can still be f ound out there for all to see. Photo by philcampbell via Flickr.com So what about the new types of social media that can be accessed from your smartphone via apps like Instagram or Viddy. Well, they may fall into the gray area about finding all the pictures and videos you post over the Internet but you have to remember that technology is ever changing. I mean just look at the recent purchase of Instagram by Facebook for one billion dollars. All the photos that were once safe from the Internet will soon if they haven’t already obtain a faster upload rate to Facebook instantly. Don’t mention the fact that there are already options on these sites to have a direct upload to several other social media networks. So just think about things before you put them out for the whole world to see. Just because you think something is funny doesn’t mean that it should be up for the whole world to view. And if it’s not something that you would feel comfortable seeing on a big screen projector while sitting in a room full of your peers or if you wouldn’t mind your grandparents seeing it, then why would you want the rest of the world, including your future employee seeing it?