Exposed.

Everything we do, including school work has now began to rely on technology. So, of course I'm part of a variety of social networking sites, including this one. Each one I use differently though. Facebook for keeping in touch with family and acquaintances; Twitter for communicating briefly and quickly with friends; a blog to express my feelings and portray my interests, and now that I think of it, every social networking site is the same. The only difference is someone's own personal way of using it. But wherever we go, we're surrounded by information about people, about the world - anything we want to learn about is right at our fingertips. I think this interests people; it's fascinating to play a new app or join a new site. You're interested in what it entails and love the mystery in it.

I do, in fact, check my privacy settings right when I make something new. I know matter-of-factually that my Facebook is kept private and is only able to view in its entirety if I allow you. That is similar with the rest of my social networking sites,. I am kept on the "down-low," and even if you do happen to find me, my information is not open to you without my consent (except for this blog). I do this partly because of my parents. Both of them do not have social networking such as Facebook for the sake of their privacy. So, they make sure I'm safe as well. They always warn me about the dangers and keep me aware of what I could be putting online. In fact, even when I enter online contests, I do read the terms and conditions to understand where my information is going and if its truly a legitimate contest. 

Now that I think of it, when I do give consent, I am allowing people into my entire lives. They are able to see what I do on a daily basis. I've thought about this vaguely but not in depth, and I very well know that one piece of information can trace to another - so on and so forth. 

But in one sense, I think there's not a lot of harm in telling a little about yourself. When it comes to the hardy personal stuff, though, then you're in the sights of danger. Your interests is one of the safest things you can post. I know, a personal blog of mine is kept hidden incredibly well, to the point where it doesn't even have my name associated with it and I'm totally fine with that. Your name seems safe, but it cuts down the options to a minimal, giving anyone a head-start on how to look for you. Anything associated with where you live or what school you go to is also a big "iffy," unless you're totally fine with people finding you. Any number, whether a cell phone or card number, is probably the most unsafe thing to post. Anyone, with that information, could easily commit fraud against you, and that's not a pretty sight. With all the technology nowadays, the tiniest bit of information could mean a whole lot in the long run.

The moral of the story is we just need to be more careful. One step could easily just be taking a step back and asking yourself, "do I really need to make a new account for this?" If the answer is no, well there's your big red sign pleading you to STOP. Another would be just to really read about where your information is going by asking or searching it beforehand. Always make sure to check privacy settings as well. On Facebook for example, even when you're set to private, your information and pictures are still able to be seen by your friend's friends. Understand before you create an account. Not all social networking sites are bad, but some are incredibly irrelevant. 

Know the facts before you give the facts; better to be safer than sorry, right?