I was reading about the recent Twitter DOS that also affected Facebook and particularly the comments posted on CNN about how not having Twitter made people feel naked. One person interviewed said that people knew everything about her life because of Twitter.
I have always been a little hesitant to post online status. After all, those really close to me already know what I’m doing, and those who are not so close to me could always fire off an email and/or ask to be put back onto my mailing list. Why does the public in general need to know if I’m heading to the grocery store, or even on vacation for two weeks.
Smart criminals are few and far between, however they do exist. It is not difficult to tie a twitter account or Facebook account to a physical address. If your schedule is half-way routine the smart criminal can take advantage of it, but if it is posted online the criminal doesn’t need to go very far to target your house, apartment, or vehicle. Even more concerning is personal safety and security. Do you twitter about when you are getting off work? Do you have a long walk to your car? Scary stuff.
What it comes down to is our desire as people to be popular and important, but the fact of the matter is that few of us are or ever will be. And if we suddenly were popular we probably wouldn’t be all that happy about it. There isn’t a lot of glamor in having news crews camp on your lawn day after day, and if someone is always around the corner looking for a photo opportunity, there’s little time to relax.
My suggestion to the die-hard Twitter and Facebook addicts: Be safe! Think about what information you post online and how it could be used against you both at your current stage in life and years into the future. Will your kids use it against you? Your relatives? A criminal? If you suddenly did become a public figure? Just think about it – and don’t get so attached to a single entity such as Facebook in particular. I know people who don’t use email much anymore because they can just message back and forth on Facebook’s mail. That’s all fine and good except for when Facebook disappears, suffers a DOS or decides to change their privacy policies. If you rely on Facebook for email, how would you contact your friends if it suddenly went away?
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This is some good insight. It’s pretty amazing how people give up so much personal information, not only willingly, but almost as if its expected of them. Then those same people complain because their houses get broken in to while on vacation after telling 150K+ of the “closest friends” that they’ll be gone for a week or whatever. In Texas there is a major car theft problem, so much so that there is a state-wide ad campaign [1] where victims basically admit that the theft was their own fault since they left their keys or purse or whatever inside the car and/or forgot to lock it. It’s essentially the same in my opinion.
1. Here’s the old one, newer ones are interviews where the people admit fault: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt4MgcGj32M
You hit the nail on the head when you said “What it comes down to is…” People are just so very insecure and think these sites make them important and popular! Sheesh. Love your family, make friends FACE TO FACE, love yourself. We have done a huge disservice to generations of humans and they rely on strangers and others (old friends who never contacted them before but now write on walls) to boost their egos. Be safe, people, have a little fun and then get off the site, don’t let the world know your every move. A lot of us don’t care.
Thanks for the thoughts, PC.
Very informative and useful Tip that I have never thought about. Thank you
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