Think Twice Before You Post!

Getting caught up in social media is something most users of the internet are guilty, including myself. In the moment, it can be hard to take a step back and realize that whatever is being posted, will be in cyber space forever. At times I think about the various things I am sharing online, while other times I am not as careful as I should be. I think I am careful but not as careful as I should be sometimes.

All of my social media accounts are on private. The reason why I make my social media pages private is because I want to monitor who can view my content. I would personally be nervous to not have my accounts on private and allow the whole world to see my life. I think I am protected to a certain extent on my social media platforms. By no means am I completely safe from hackers and crazy people, but I think I am less likely to be targeted by people like that since I do have settings that do not allow them to view my pages unless they are my friend or follower. With that being said, I consider myself to be more private on social media in comparison to some other users.

Is anything really private on the internet? This is a very important questions. I think lots of people need to ask themselves this question when they are unsure if they should post something. Most times if you have doubts about posting something inappropriate online, it is good to trust your instincts. Hackers have the ability to literally hack anything on the web. It’s scary, but it is something that users need to remind themselves about before posting things online. There is only so much that one can do to make their account safe. Online hackers, phishers, and scammers have a way of figuring out how to hack everything somehow. It’s sad and scary, but it is true.

As I mentioned before, all my social media accounts are private. I also try to make my account passwords all different and complicated to not make myself an easy target. I also do not have updated information about myself on my Facebook. I try and make sure that everyone I add on my pages are people I know. It can be easy to accept every request, but it is smart to make sure you know the person before accepting. I went through my Facebook recently and deleted lots of people that had been added a while ago, who I did not know well now. My number one rule I have always had is to never share my password with anyone.

Guide Lines for internet users:

1. 1.    Trust no one. People are not always who they say they are online and can trick you into many things. Trusting people online can set you up for failure.
2. 2.    Before posting something ask yourself, “would this disappoint my parents if they saw this”. If you are going to post on one of your social media pages, make sure it is something that is appropriate and represents yourself well.
3. 3.    You don’t need to share your whole life on your social media pages. Keeping things private in your life is important. Do you really want people on your Facebook that you haven’t talked to in five years to know everything happening in your life?
4. 4.    Never hand out your password to anyone. ANYONE! There is no reason someone would need your password to any of your accounts. People come and go, you don’t want people to have access to your accounts when they are no longer your friend.