For Capstone, you need to write an essay answering your Main Inquiry Question. My Inquiry Question is: What are the risks to our privacy when on different Social Media sites an what are the top ways we can protect ourselves. This essay was based on lots of research and is a big part of this project. Here is my essay:
Have you ever thought when you go online that your personal or private information can be stolen at anytime or anywhere? Probably not, but after you read this, YOU WILL. There are many risks to our privacy when we use Social Media sites. The top three risks are posting, info and scams and data selling. The top five ways to protect ourselves is remember the Internet is permanent, be selective when accepting a friend, managing your privacy settings, don’t reveal personal information and choose hard -to-unlock passwords. I have been doing almost two months of research.I think that there are many risks but also ways we can can protect ourselves on Social Media sites.
The first part of my Main Inquiry Question is: What are the risks to our privacy when we use Social Media sites? One risk of your privacy on Social Media is posting because whatever is posted can be found by anyone in the world. This is why if something gets posted but you don’t want people to see, anyone can still find it and hurt or threaten you, the number of sexual assaults per year has increased by 300% . Examples are, personal information, inappropriate pictures, etc. According to https://www.guardchild.com/social-media-statistics-2/ 24% of users have had private or embarrassing information posted without their permission. This is something that lots of teens do not pay attention to. Another risk of your privacy on Social Media sites is that on Social media, info and scams can open up breaches of security. When we use Social Media, viruses, identity and brand theft can all occur. You should consider being more careful when clicking “I agree” to avoid the software and hardware security breaches. Some recommend being very broad with information to avoid very personal information leaks. You need to think how much information you share and if that information can be used against you. This is one of the more sneaky and harder to control risks to your privacy on Social Media sites. My final risk of your privacy on social media sites is data selling. This happens when a company sells part of their customers information. For example the Facebook Scandal was when Mark Zuckerberg (CEO) sold information to a different company and gave away many people’s information. This is a risk to your privacy that is beyond your control.
The second part of my Main Inquiry Question is: What are the top ways we can protect ourselves on Social Media sites? One of the top ways we can protect ourselves is to remember the Internet lasts forever – once you put information on the site, it stays permanent. Even if you delete the account, you can not be sure if someone has already printed or copied your text or photos off of it. According to https://www.guardchild.com/social-media-statistics-2/ 39% of users think that their information is private to everyone. This is one very important way to protect yourself on Social Media sites. Another top way we can protect ourselves is be selective when accepting a friend – Do you really know that their profile is not fake? Only friend people you know in the real world. Be careful when clicking on links, even if they’re from friends. Hackers hunt on social networks because you are more likely to click on something from your friends. Try not to accept offers that are too good to be true, because they usually are. Another way we can protect ourselves is to manage your privacy settings – make sure that you are only sharing information with friends and family or anyone you trust and check them regularly in case there are any changes. Be careful of the fact that the information you share on any social network may be connected to another. For example, a video you post to Twitter may automatically post to your Facebook account. Don’t have the GPS function on your smartphone camera all the time. If you plan to share images on Social Media sites, make sure that you don’t reveal your exact location by turning off the GPS on your device. Don’t turn on auto login. Don’t have your computer’s browser to remember your login and password and make sure that you don’t have your apps set to automatically log you in so that way if someone does get access to your devices, they can’t access your social sites. This is a way to protect ourselves on Social Media sites that most people don’t know about.
Another way we can protect ourselves is don’t reveal personal information. Question anyone who asks for your personal information online and never give away any home address, phone number, Social Security number, or other personal information. According to https://www.guardchild.com/social-media-statistics-2/ 29% of users have been stalked by someone they don’t know. This is another top way we can protect ourselves on Social Media sites. Another way we can protect ourselves on Social Media sites is to change your passwords regularly. Choose hard-to-unlock passwords that are at least eight characters long and a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Also make sure you use different passwords for each profile. Close old accounts that you don’t use anymore. Don’t risk leaving personal data in an old account, such as a MySpace page that has been idle for years, or on an online dating site you no longer in use. Instead, close the accounts you don’t use and delete as much personal information from them as possible. All of these methods show some top ways to protect yourself on Social Media sites.
In conclusion, these examples all show the risks and the top ways we can protect ourselves on Social Media sites. I think some of the risks are linked to the top ways we can protect ourselves but some don’t. Even though there are a lot of risks there are also many ways to protect yourself on Social Media sites. I learned a lot researching about this Main Inquiry Question. Now you know to think before you send, press or post anything.