The button, the screen, the mouse, the profile. Do we see the true you through the pixel of a screen or through the twinkle of an eye?
An account of individuality can be represented through visual contact, so is it seen the same through the touch of a button?
It has never been so easy to fool others through social networking, and yet also very easy to see ones true colours, wether intended or not. Our employers for example. Do you blame them for checking your profile to see what you're really like? Some would say its unfair to root through another's personal life, yet we exhibit it so willingly. Think about it, you've just applied for a new job, you're profile is public, and you're status today is: 'oh man I am so hung-over, sick day I think' ...oooops! No interview for you.
It is so tempting and utterly easy to nose through someone's personal profile, sometimes we do it without even thinking, a hobby, a habit...an addiction. I don't think we have even stopped to notice just how open the human race has become, and just how dangerous that can be.
Could it go on? What next? A virtual tour around ones house perhaps? We already have sofa surfing...kip on a random persons sofa for a night (a cheaper option for the traveler) Good idea! Just remember to take your pepper spray! And your German Sheppard!
Trust is the key. I am pretty sure that there are a few 100 or so on our ‘friends’ list that we don’t entirely trust, so why not ‘check in’ to a restaurant or the local hairdressers, making it even easier for you’re secret foe’s to spy on you…and not to mention leaving your house wide open to get robbed at the same time! Do we check in so everyone knows where we are incase we get lost? Surely not, we have GPS for that!
There are many more demons to be aware of online. Such as hackers, people who steal identities for theft and fraud. There are even sites made to look like social websites just so they can steal your log in passwords.The most casual piece of information, could incite criminal activity.
Children are the most vulnerable when considering social networking. If a child accepts an online friend, who is an undercover preditor, he/she can find out just about anything about that child, including the address. There are strict age limits on social sites, however it is very easy for even a child to cheat the system. Parents must take this into account.
This is not a quide in avoiding social networking, it is a new method of interaction, one in which has become a part of everyday life. The message here is merely to be aware of the dangers of social networking, and consider how you would like to be portrayed to the world, because lets face it, we are all on show. Try to realise just how much is possible online. As with most things in life there are opportunities and there are risks. Social networking is an underestimated power.
Angels…watch out for those network demons!
