It seems harmless to update your Facebook status with your location. Who wouldn’t want to let their 500 closet friends know that you just walked into Chipotle? But what we sometimes fail to recognize is the security issues we are setting up for ourselves by letting our social media sites know our every move.
Social media has made it all too easy to sit back, press a button and let the world know our favorite and most frequently visited hotspots. We let people know when we’re at the mall, when we leave for the airport, when we got to the movie theater—the list goes on and on. But when does it become too much? When have we crossed the limit of harmless banter, into the realm of security concerns and privacy issues? Do we really need to publicize our every move? Or are we just attracting unwanted attention?
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy promoting your social outings on the web—I get a small sense of joy from checking in on foursquare and winning points based on where I go. It doesn’t bother me that I don’t have any real friends on Foursquare—instead I choose to check in to earn badges and get to the top of the leader board. But who else is out there in cyberspace taking note of my odd obsession with checking into our school fitness loft? Does it show up that I go pretty much every day at 3:15? Should I be staggering my outings and making myself less predictable? Everything online is a guessing game, and while I like that my Facebook friends “liked” my post about “Date night at Cheesecake Factory”, do I really need everyone else being able to see where I went last Friday? I tend to forget that while it’s fun to promote your social life, you have to be weary of who can see it.
Here are a few things to consider before pressing “check-in”:
- Who are your friends on this social media platform? Are you broadcasting to a widespread net of individuals—Do you even know half of them? Or is this a specific circle of friends?
- What are your privacy settings like for your page? Do you have certain features, like pictures, statuses and check-ins that can be adjusted to your standards?
- What information are you posting? Should you really be telling everyone on the Internet that you leaving for vacation and won’t be home for a week? Probably not smart, considering that sounds like an open invitation for someone to stop by your humble abode, and “watch” it for you.
- Are you sharing a little too much? It’s been said that excessive tweeting or posting is not only annoying, but often unnecessary. Are you sharing relevant, interesting information, or crowding your newsfeed with babble and nonsense. Check in to the fun places— like Buckingham Palace, or the Statue of Liberty. Don’t be that one person on social media that has a case of TMI and shares with his virtual world every time he goes to the grocery store or gas station.
Make smart decisions when dealing with the Internet and social media and you won’t have anything to worry about. Be cautious of the information you share, and the details you are giving away. The Internet is never “private” the way you think it is so don’t reveal too much!
-Ring Queen
I’m reading Invitation to the Life Span
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