If you had to choose between
using social media or your privacy and security, which would you pick? For some this
may seem like an absurd question, obviously ones privacy and security is more
important then using social media. However, this is where you would be wrong.
Every time we use a social media site or agree to the terms and conditions of
a social media app, we forfeit our right to privacy and enable their use of our personal information.
When we sign up for sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, we are asked
to provide them with our personal information and access to our contacts and location services. This is information that we normally keep to ourselves in fear of misuses. However, when a social media sites
ask us for this information we willingly without a though give it up. While adding your full name, age, birthday, province, and city to your Twitter or Facebook page may seem harmless, this is information that can be used to steel your identity or discover where you live.
Criminals use social media sites to hunt for potential victims. There has been an increase in online identity theft in which criminals have taken peoples information right from their social media pages and used this information to create fake identities and bank accounts. Another threat is the use of location data, this has been adopted by sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Location data allows users to not only check in at certain locations but also allows these sites and potential third parties to track users travel patters.
Marketing firms and advertising agencies have also begun to take advantage of location data in order to better understand consumer behaviour. Social media location data in combination with user information, provides them with the data needed to build consumer profiles. These consumer profiles can then be used to better reach their target market.
To think of a life with out social media is hard and I personally know that I would not be able to last a week without being connected. Hence, this is why I myself and many others choose to give up our information in order to stay connected to the online public sphere. In doing so, we also put our selves at risk of having our personal information, our photos and our identity stolen.
Maybe this is just the price we pay to live in a digital world.
Criminals use social media sites to hunt for potential victims. There has been an increase in online identity theft in which criminals have taken peoples information right from their social media pages and used this information to create fake identities and bank accounts. Another threat is the use of location data, this has been adopted by sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Location data allows users to not only check in at certain locations but also allows these sites and potential third parties to track users travel patters.
Marketing firms and advertising agencies have also begun to take advantage of location data in order to better understand consumer behaviour. Social media location data in combination with user information, provides them with the data needed to build consumer profiles. These consumer profiles can then be used to better reach their target market.
To think of a life with out social media is hard and I personally know that I would not be able to last a week without being connected. Hence, this is why I myself and many others choose to give up our information in order to stay connected to the online public sphere. In doing so, we also put our selves at risk of having our personal information, our photos and our identity stolen.
Maybe this is just the price we pay to live in a digital world.
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