Social Networking: Proceed with Caution

In today’s technologically advanced society, social networking has become a part of everyday life for teens, as well as adults. There are many social network sites, including facebook, myspace, myyearbook and twitter. While social networking sites have many benefits, such as keeping in touch with friends, meeting new people with similar interests, learning more about the people you know and plus, they are just entertaining. Many people know that social networking can be a very negative thing, if not used properly, however that majority does not take proper precaution.

Many dangers lurk on social networking sites; some of these dangers are minimal, while others can be very severe. Social networking sites provide opportunities for people to become anyone they want. This can be dangerous because anyone you “meet” online may not be who they say they are. Anyone can access these sites, so be careful who you add as a friend and who you talk to. The best way to avoid this is to only add and talk to people you have met in person.

Recently, companies, law firms and colleges have been checking social networking sites for people who are applying for jobs, schools or are involved in court cases. Many of these establishments have complete access to social sites and can see anything posted, including pictures. A recent study by Harris interactive states that 45% of jobs look at social networking sites for applicants pages. Even more astounding, 35% of those applicants who have some sort of social network account do not get the job. The best way to avoid this is to think about everything before you post it. Imagine that your boss or future boss is seeing every update, picture and blog posted to your profile.

The worst danger of social networking, however, is identity theft. People post tons of personal information on their accounts, name, address, cell number, school name, names of family and friends, and even worse internet predators can often take information from someone’s page and identify personal account passwords. Identity theft is becoming more and more popular every year in the US, and it has a great deal to do with social networking sites. When posting information on the internet, and social sites, do not post anything that would lead someone to your physical address, and do not post pictures that can identify where you live. Think twice before posting anything that could lead to identity theft.

Social networking sites are a great way of communication, and they are the technology of the modern world. They can be great tools, if used properly. Just be smart about how you use them.