Subject: Todays Internet
Posted by: s-m-w
Date: Sep 05 11
Is the use of the Internet dangerous, are social networking sites really putting personal security at risk?
Or...
Is this just the "paranoia brigade" worrying about nothing but a new and evolving technology age?
Posted by: s-m-w
Date: Sep 05 11
Is the use of the Internet dangerous, are social networking sites really putting personal security at risk?
Or...
Is this just the "paranoia brigade" worrying about nothing but a new and evolving technology age?
12 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
surdoux 
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IMHO (for what it's worth), a lot of the 'social sites' allow too much information to be public property, from what I can see, it is akin to putting a notice on your front door with all your personal details, upcoming holidays etc., to be available for anyone who may be interested. When I meet people, it normally takes a while for them to become friends and privy to personal details. On the internet, personal information seems to be given out like sweeties at a children's party. Reply #1. Sep 05 11, 2:20 PM |
daymare
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I agree with surdoux. Reply #2. Sep 05 11, 2:22 PM |
Oatmeal25
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To me, one of the joys of friendship is in letting it develop slowly and surely. Splatting oneself all over the internet takes all the fun--and depth--out of getting to know another person gradually. Excuse me while I channel Deborah Kerr. Reply #3. Sep 05 11, 5:26 PM |
lesley153
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The paranoia brigade is alive and well, and I'm noticing a bit of a backlash on Facebook recently as the novelty of mass communication wears off. People aren't tagging their children in photos. Some won't even post pictures of their children. A friend's daughter was 13 last month, and now has her own Facebook account. You see her name, and a picture showing the back view of a few thirteen-year-old girls. Nothing else. You can't even send her a friend request or a message. Two local teenage boys I know have done the same thing. Their conversations and pictures were public: they are now hidden to all but Facebook friends. People generally seem to be getting more cagey about how much information they make public. Some have phoned in to work sick, then plastered lurid details of their illicit day out all over their Facebook page. Or they've written exactly what they think of the boss. Many of these people will go back to work and find that their services are no longer required. These sites are endlessly useful and convenient communication tools, and I'm sure that their sensible use far outweighs their unsensible use. I don't imagine that they were conceived as vehicles for strong friendships: probably just for showing off, who has the most friends and the most invitations. Reply #4. Sep 05 11, 5:52 PM |
Juggernaut314
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I used to cause PLENTY of trouble with "the internet" prior to social networking sites. Fortunately I've grown up, but seeing what's available through social networking makes me cringe at how extremely easy it is to cause trouble. Furthermore, you don't have too much control over what friends of friends say. You can guard your information, but it just takes one person saying something to another to allow someone with bad intentions to have the information they need to do something. Reply #5. Sep 30 11, 4:35 PM |
postcards2go
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My son hasn't a clue. He gives out personal information, like his birthdate, and his school. He's also one of those who thinks that the more friends, the better. I cringe at the screen names of some of the people he 'friends'. He will be 18 in less than a month, and at university in less than a year. I *must* believe that he will 'turn out O.K.' My parents thought Rock and Roll was 'evil' LOL, and I'm O.K.... Yes?? :-D Reply #6. Sep 30 11, 5:25 PM |
| reeshy
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It's less of a problem with social networking and more to do with people putting details on a public site that they don't want public. It's kind of obvious - if you don't want people to know your address/mobile number etc., don't put it on Facebook. Unless you're on a secure server for things like banking, there is no such thing as internet privacy. I think sites like FB get a lot of bad press for the people who abuse them. We don't all put sordid details online along with our addresses for strangers to see! Users can set their own privacy as high or low as they want - as Lesley has mentioned, you can alter your page so that others can't even add you as a friend or send you a message. YOU choose who gets in. So, yes, it's mostly paranoia and a bit of ignorance. I saw an article recently about people freaking out because Facebook "follows its users after they have logged out". It concerned tracking cookies, which most people don't realize are used by many sites, not just Facebook! It's also worth pointing out that people seem to forget the "private message" feature on these sites! Instead of airing dirty laundry on "Walls", send a message! Reply #7. Oct 01 11, 9:11 AM |
| reeshy
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Lesley: "I don't imagine that they were conceived as vehicles for strong friendships: probably just for showing off, who has the most friends and the most invitations." Or to make it easier to keep in contact with long-distance friends! Of course some (most?) people will turn anything into a competition, but many of us use the site for very useful purposes! The fault's not with the site, but how some people use it. :) Reply #8. Oct 01 11, 9:13 AM |
rayven80
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I don't think it's the websites or the Internet. It's the people who don't use common sense. They don't realize that people will see their information and use it. I remember the girl who was stuck in a culvert. Instead of calling 911, she updated her Facebook page and her friend called 911. It's that kind of thinking that is scary. Reply #9. Oct 01 11, 10:00 AM |
| lesley153
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Reeshy, you're right - I did omit quite a chunk of thought process. Facebook started off as a mass communication tool for students at Harvard, and was then extended to other universities, and ultimately to everyone. It has enabled first students, and now the rest of us, to find long-lost friends and relatives, and I've seen it used very effectively as an organisational tool: come to my party, or next rehearsal is tomorrow. I have also seen it descend into competition - I've got the most friends - ner ner NER! - but that, I suspect, depends on the user more than the medium. I've found quite a few long-lost friends and relatives on Facebook, spent a moment remembering them, and why they were long-lost, and decided they can stay that way! Rayven, I don't know how typical that story is. What is scary is how our logic can desert us when we're under extreme stress. I've done exactly the same thing. When my husband had a heart attack, came home from hospital, and then looked like he was having another, I phoned the hospital for advice. I'd hung on for a minute for the ward to answer before I realised that it was very silly and I really needed to call 999. I don't suppose I'm alone. Reply #10. Oct 01 11, 10:20 AM |
| reeshy
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Lesley, I don't think your example is comparable! You still phoned people with medical expertise and they were the right people to give advice. Yes, you probably "should have" called 911, but as you say, stress diverts our common sense sometimes. :) Whereas in Rayven's example, I have seen similar things and it's not always done in a panic. I was going to say "It says a lot about today's youth" but then I'm only 20 :P Reply #11. Oct 01 11, 2:37 PM |
| lesley153
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It was a situation I hadn't been in before (nobody wants to be in). If someone had presented me with a description of the facts in writing, I wouldn't have thought twice. Simple - ring 999 - now! (Or 911 in America or 000 in Australia or 112 in Europe.) I did ring 999, of course, and I don't think the lost minute would have made any difference, but that's by the way. If I got stuck in a culvert, I might be so brain-frozen I wouldn't be able to think beyond wanting as many people as possible to know about it! Who knows till it happens to us? Reply #12. Oct 01 11, 4:54 PM |
12 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
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