What are social networking sites?
Social networking sites are a place on the internet where users
have a profile and upload content, such as photos, to share with a
huge network of people. Usually these people are friends but
content can also be shared with people all over the world.
Popular social networking sites include Facebook, Bebo, Myspace
and Twitter. Other sites such as YouTube are similar but focus
solely on sharing video.
There are hundreds of ways users of these sites can interact,
including sharing photos, uploading music, watching video and
writing blogs or updates for their friends to read.
Among friends this can be a great and easy way to keep in touch,
but there are risks with social networking that need to be taken
into consideration. Social networking sites take security very
seriously so take a moment to read these tips on your personal web
safety.
Minimum age limits
In most countries, 13 is the minimum age limit for users to sign
up to social networking sites. Usually the security settings or
limitations of use for users of such a young age are strict to
protect them from viewing certain parts of the social network that
are deemed inappropriate.
Profile
A profile is a page containing the user’s personal information.
This usually consists of name, age, location, a personal statement
and likes or dislikes. Most sites, like Facebook, have space for
the user to upload a photo of their choice.
As a profile contains whatever information the user wishes to
put online, they will need to update privacy settings. It is
advised to set your security settings so that only friends or
trusted people can view the content of your profile page.
Security settings
Since the user of the site is uploading personal photos,
information about their location, place of work or school, and
family it is very important that they ensure their security
settings are set to “private” to control who has access to this
information. Some sites are open to huge networks of millions of
people displaying the information of its users.
It has been known for paedophiles to gather information about
children through social networking sites and people have fallen
victim to identity theft in some cases. Users should note these
risks and should report any suspicious activities to the
website.
Unless it is privacy protected, content uploaded onto the
internet can stay there and anyone can gain access to it. It is
strongly advised not to post anything online unless you would
happily share it with the world.
It is very important that users of social networks understand
that online people are not always who they say they are. Most sites
such as Facebook are a network of friends, but they can also allow
friend invites from anyone in the world. The photo they display and
the information they give about themselves is not always reality,
so precautions should always be taken.
It is not advisable to share your information or content with
people who you do not know.
Cyber bullying
People can be bullied via email, instant message and chatrooms.
This is known as cyber bullying. If you are being bullied by
someone through social networking you should ‘block’ or remove the
person from your network so that they can no longer contact you.
Most sites let you report inappropriate or threatening
behaviour.