The new concept of “friends”
How many friends do you have on Facebook? Would you say that, on average, you know these friends:
1) very well?
2) well?
3) somewhat?
4) not at all?
In the real world, we are generally quite selective about the company we keep and what personal information we share with them. However, when using social networking sites, too many of us forget to think before we click. Accepting a new friend represents more than just a click of the mouse—it means adding that person to your friends list and, if you haven’t set up different privacy settings for different lists of friends, giving that person access to all of your personal information.
Most of us have Facebook “friends” we would more likely consider acquaintances, if not total strangers. But think about the information you’ve chosen to post on your page – have you revealed your full name?; what about your address or your date of birth? If you are revealing information that could be used against you if it falls into the wrong hands you really need to think about who you are allowing to see that information. For example, when you write something as simple as “off to the cottage for the weekend!” as a status update, that may signal to a potential burglar that there’s nobody home all weekend and that your home is an easy target.
We’re not saying that you should avoid social networking sites such as Facebook – just be aware of the risks and take a few precautions to fully benefit from the positive aspects of these sites. This means limiting the kinds of information you put online and taking a close look at the privacy settings. These settings control what information about you is visible. Let only your real-life friends see your page, what you post, and your photos and applications.
Go over your friends list frequently and weed out those friends who are no longer in your circle, or restrict their access to your information. The good news is that this is reversible: you can always delete friends. However, try to avoid going through that trouble in the first place by being careful when accepting a new friend request. Only give your real friends access to your personal information – someone you don’t know doesn’t need that information anyway!
Tags: Add new tag, youth privacy; social networking; facebook