Living with Social Media 

Remember the time that you first logged onto a computer? Being opened to an entire new world was so excited.  You were left with endless opportunities to explore all the possible ways to connect with friends, be able to play games, and share pictures or statuses about what you are doing.  What better and more mature way to do this than through social media sites.  Everyday when you walk into school, social media is also on your mind or apart of your conversations.  The choices you make  while using social media will have a greater impact on your future than you realize.

As you have probably heard multiple times from your parents, it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Everyone remembers the time they got to go on a bike ride around the park; but that fun experience quickly changed when you fell off your bike.  Social media is a lot like this. The first time you log onto a website you are so happy to be able to tell the world that you are on there, but what you share can hurt you just as much as falling off of your bike.

The first thing that adults teach you is to be careful about what you put on the internet. Like every other kid you think you know how to avoid the problem of sharing too much information through your privacy settings.  When everyone sees the word private they jump at the false security of knowing that no one can look them up without them being aware, but is that really the case?  With today's modern technology, every user is not as safe as you want to believe.

Misconceptions about privacy:
-The social media site has the right to change policy whenever they want without telling you
-Friends can share things from your page
-Third party websites that can get around privacy block
-What you post can never be deleted

Every time that you log onto a social media site you need to remember the importance of what you post.  A recent study shows that teens are posting more personal information about themselves than in the past.  The fact that some of your information can still be shared even though you are on private, should make you think twice before posting such personal information. (1)

Here are some helpful hints to consider when it comes to your privacy (2):
-Use unique passwords
-Avoid clicking on links that may not be safe
-Do not use a username that gives away personal information
-Be carful who you friend

When it comes to using social media you want to be as careful as possible and be more then cautious that you are protecting all your information the best you can.  You do not want to become someone who gets hurt by the enjoyment of having social media.

(1) Madden, M., Lenhart, A.,  Cortesi, S., Grasser, U.,  Duggan, M., Smith, A., & Beaton, M. (2013 May 21).  Teens, social media, and privacy.  PewResearch Internet Project.  Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/ 

(2) Pelgrin, W.F. (2010 March).  Secruity and privacy on social networking sites.  Multi-State Infromation Sharing and Analysis Center, 5, 1.  Retrieved from http://msisac.cisecurity.org/newsletters/documents/2010-03.pdf

Pictures found at:

http://socialnewsdaily.com/43459/the-good-and-bad-of-social-media/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/

http://www.bestvaluesigns.com/stopandthinksafetybanner.htm