Social media downfalls

Social networking is a modern phenomenon.
With the likes of Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, Flickr and Myspace people have become captivated by broadcasting their own lives to friends, social groups and the world. With the likes of a Facebook page you are able to update your status any time you like day or night from all types of computer or mobile phone devices. Some people choose to let their “friends” know what they are eating for breakfast lunch and dinner, express how their skirt blew up recently or how much they were glued to the toilet bowl after a big night out on the tiles the night before.
The downfalls of social networking are many when you consider how many people can view personal profiles. Even if your profile is set to private you generally have to have a public profile picture which is accessible by the masses and can be copied by anyone who decides they like it or have a use for it. Many social media sights also sell on your images to media companies and others to be used in advertising.
Not only is there the risk of finding your face on a billboard, local or even international advertising but there is also a risk to your employment. Many Human resource agencies and employers alike now see looking up not only potential employees but also current employees to see what they are really like or what they are up to very useful. Applicants for that next big job need to be aware that their online profiles are now like windows to their souls. Just a profile picture displaying an image of one drunken night or a female employee showing off her latest lingerie is enough to turn off any employer. A photo that one might see as artistic may come across crude to a potential employer. For instance if one was to apply for an overseas position in say a country such as Dubai or Saudi Arabia a seemly harmless photo of your social life may be socially and politically unacceptable in the country of potential employment.
It’s not only the regular Joe at risk of social networking downfalls. “Though still in its infancy, social media is permanently changing the game for individuals, politicians, corporations, and governments. It's creating a new kind of winner and a new kind of loser, and it's high time we learn from our collective mistakes and failures.
We've had some epic social media failures. Anthony Weiner is not the only one who didn't give enough thought to the unintended recipients of his private information. A Canadian woman lost her disability benefits when Facebook vacation pictures contradicted her claims of debilitating depression. Divorce lawyers now frequently monitor Twitter and Facebook posts to find dirt on their clients' exes, to be used in alimony and child custody negotiations. One mom even lost custody of her children because her Facebook profile showed she was spending too much time on Farmville.” - Jeffrey Stibel
On the darker side Social Media can lead to potentially life changing problems due to cyber bullying. Many an young person has encountered cyber bullying and sadly this has led to many suicides. This is a devastating occurrence for any family of the bullying victim.
“Statistics about cyberbullying
» According to the National Crime Prevention Center, over 40% of all teenagers with Internet access have reported being bullied online during the past year.
» Girls are more likely than boys to be the target of cyberbullying. Also, there is a direct correlation to the amount of time girls spend online and the likelihood that they will be bullied.
» The National Crime Prevention Center National Crime Prevention Center study found that only 10% of those kids who were bullied told their parents about the incident, and that a mere 18% of the cases were reported to a local or national law enforcement agency.
» Only 15% of parents are “in the know” about their kids’ social networking habits, and how these behaviors can lead to cyberbullying.
» Currently, the most common virtual locations for cyberbullying are chat rooms, social networking web sites, email and instant message systems.
» Of the technologies above, chat rooms are currently where the most cyberbullying occurs, with various sources finding anywhere between 45% - 57% of all incidents originating there.
» Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are growing fast, and so are the cyberbullying incidents originating from them. Experts believe that they will soon overtake chat rooms as the top source of cyberbullying problems worldwide.
» According to a recent study, 58% of 4th through 8th graders reported having mean or cruel things said to them online. 53% said that they have said mean or hurtful things to others while online. 42% of those studied said that they had been “bullied online”, but almost 60% have never told their parents about the incident.
» Cell phone cameras and digital cameras are a growing problem in the cyberbullying world. A recent survey found that 10% of 770 young people surveyed were made to feel “threatened, embarrassed or uncomfortable” by a photo taken of them using a cell-phone camera.
» According to extensive research on middle school age students and teenagers online, the fastest growing problems within the world of cyberbullying are:
» Stealing an individual’s name and password to a social networking site, then using their profile to post rumors, gossip or other damaging information.
» Altering photographs using PhotoShop or other photo editing software in order to humiliate the individual.
» Recording conversations without the individual’s knowledge or consent, then posting the call online.
» Creating confrontational and mean-spirited online polls about the individual and posting them on different web sites.
» Using web sites and blogs to post hurtful, embarrassing information about another individual.” - Cyberbullying Alert
So the moral here is really to be careful about what you post. Even deleted items can still turn up in the black hole that is the Social Networking system on the internet. Don’t feel complacent about what you believe is private…it may not be, or that belongs to you…it may not. Consider your future carefully or what you’d like it to be as you might just mess it up by posting the wrong thing on a Social Networking site.
References:
Harvard Business Review - http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/08/the_simple_way_to_avoid_social.html
The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01link.html
CyberBully Alert - http://www.cyberbullyalert.com/blog/2008/08/cyber-bullying-statistics-that-may-shock-you/

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