Is Social Media A Serious Hazard To Privacy?

Social media, whether it’s Facebook or the rest of the family Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat, etc. it has been a fundamental part of people’s daily life all across the planet. Our lives rely on social media these days. Whether it’s connecting with friends, sharing pictures, shopping or branding, everything is digital now.

These social media sites rely on the data given by their users. They build their business model according to the data we share on the sites. Social media analyzes the market using the information we provide them.

What type of data? The information that represents “our digital self.” We all have our personal profiles which have our necessary details like name, email address, contact number, location. What’s more to it?

Social media isn’t just about basic info anymore. It might not come as a surprise to you that comments, likes, dislikes, trips you planned, your chat with friends & interests, all is considered as a valuable data for not just social media business model but also marketers. Digital marketers communicate with their audience using the same data.

What about Privacy?

We all value our privacy more than anything. Let’s talk about Facebook’s privacy policy. 2018, was no doubt a tough year for the CEO Mark Zuckerberg. There were many data leakage scandals, serious inquiries, confused investors, & angry users! Facebook made many changes overall to prevent spams, & improve their privacy controls. To develop their ecosystem, they limited social media management tools to post or schedule on your personal profiles. Third party tools will be able to schedule posts on business pages & group only. These changes might be able to help small businesses & marketers with their social media strategies.

It’s not just marketing, social media has overall changed the way we used to communicate. These days most of our private communications happen online. Every click you made, the data you shared, the chat you deleted online has a record. Nothing is safe, nothing is a permanently deleted online.

Precautionary Steps Every User Should Take While Using Social Media

The gadgets, the advancements in technology & social media networks have changed the communication paradigm. As crucial social networks are to remain updated & connected with the world, there can be a few tips & hacks to secure our privacy. Here are the basics of all:

• No matter how anonymous your account is, always try to create a strong password.
• Don’t use the same password for different sites & accounts.
• Keep yourself aware of the latest privacy controls & update your setting regularly.
• Never click or visit any link that looks suspicious.
• Don’t enter your data (credit card or other) on unsecured connections & sites. Always look for a domain that starts with HTTPS whether it’s online shopping or forms.
• Never take the security questions for granted.
• Make sure the people you’re connecting or adding in your friend list are known to you.
• Always keep an updated anti-virus system installed on your computer & phone.
• Don’t forget to leave your accounts logged in.
• When not necessary keep the location of your phone turned off. Location might seem like an innocent piece of data, but coupled with other data, it could take stalking to a whole next level.

The world is becoming more internet-savvy these days, and social media networks are getting more vulnerable. Even with all the data collection & privacy controls, people find it hard to disconnect. Unplugging from social media is not an option anymore. These technologies have somehow made our lives convenient & efficient. As a user, you are accountable to take significant precautions to benefit from these social networking sites without the cost of your privacy.  As Gary Kovacs says,

“Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn’t be the price we accept for just getting on the Internet.”