Malayna Abad
DeVry University
Hazards of Social Media in today’s Society
Are social networking sites putting us in danger? Social Media is a familiar tool used in today’s society. The media networks out there such as: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube let people stay in touch with families, connect with potential employers, and meet different people all over the world. Social networking is also a platform for obtaining current events at a moment’s notice. Along with these so could networks that allow you to stay in touch with the world, they have their potential dangers. These dangers can include public viewing of your personal life, and prone to sexual predators.
Social media sites are virtual communities that can be publically viewed by anyone and everyone. Pictures, videos, and personal information continually get posted even with privacy statements.(Gail, Uy K 2010).All while people think they are safe from having certain people view their profiles, there is always a way to view your personal sites. The danger of having your information put out there for the world to see is the possibility of becoming a victim of identity theft. Along with identify theft; there is the possibility of fake profiling and bullying.
Building of fake profiles in the social network community is something that is easy for anyone that is trying or wanting to bully someone without having to do it in person. This is called cyber bullying. Once someone shares a certain detail about someone, they will share with another person and another, and it just continues to grow, and somehow makes its way back to that one individual. In high school cyber bullying is something that has grown out of control, and had definitely made parents very concerned, especially when it comes to sexual predators. It has gotten to the point where the FBI has gotten involved. (Vanderlaan, Jon 2011)
Sexual predators are consistently viewing random profiles
References: Gail Uy K. Points of View: I am a victim of identity theft 2010, October 30 Vanderlaan, Jon Points of View: Facebook groups bring cyber bullying accusations, 2011, October 14 Sanford Herald, The NC Points Of View: More than just your “friends” are watching, 2012, March 5