Social Networking: Protecting Your Information and Personal Brand

The Internet is a necessity in Americans’ lives and something that many access often throughout the day. Over 80% of students use one or more social networks and more than half log in at least once a day (Peluchette, 2008). The Internet “allows people to separate their ideas from their physical presence” (Keats Cintron, 2009) making collaboration easier between two parties.” Separation may be a city or a continent. As the number of Internet users increases, “so does the criminal usage of the Internet” according to the Swedish National Criminal Investigation Department (Armstrong, 2009).

Social networking and social interaction through technologyis adaily part of most people’s lives. Social networking sites (SNS) are:“web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connections, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site” (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). SNS are essentially templates that allow individuals to share information with others on the web, whether it's a photo, their school, interests, geographic location or instant surveys. The information can be shared publicly or with “friends” who are individuals that are allowed full access to their profile instead of just a name and photo. A profile can be populated or updated in a few clicks.This ease of publishing information is something that youth have never experienced in the past making it easy to disclose sensitive information or images, increase one’s exposure to strangers, and magnify hateful messages to a myriad of locations on the web.

Social networks allow friends and colleagues to connect with one another, however, it also allows cyber bullies and cyber criminals a lot of creativity when selecting victims. Social networks may also allow users to harass, intimidate, steal sensitive information from, or murder a victim (Atkinson, 2007). LinkedIn, a popular social network for professionals, does not allow users to “connect to people who don’t know you,” (LinkedIn, 2010) though that may be difficult depending on the number of contacts someone has or how outgoing they are online. A lack of awareness of the possible risks for sharing information in social networks or connecting to a person someone doesn’t know well creates a variety of risks to the person.

First, this paper will discuss youth in social networking sites. Less than ten years ago, youth experienced daily face-to-face interaction while in the classroom, on the playground, and while participating in after school sports or activities. Since that time, the media and researchers have expressed concern that technology is degrading social-skills as we know them. Social networking sites are unique in that they facilitate the creation of relationships amongst strangers, but also in that they enable users to have visible networks allowing for extremely extended social networks (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). The terms of service on any social network tell the user that they should only accept connection requests from those they know in real life; however, young adults are social creatures and prone to risk-taking.

Many sites do attempt to restrict age with minimum requirements; however these sites are reliant on self-reporting, meaning this information, in addition to others, is often falsified (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). Profiles on social networking sites can be set to ‘private,’ limiting general public view; however, they can also be "public," meaning anyone can send them messages, view their profile, or search for them with only pieces of information (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). One way that this common problem can be combated, is setting an age for which profiles are automatically set to private as is the case with MySpace; the site sets a minimum age use at fourteen and automatically privatizes all user profiles below the age of sixteen (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). The term "privacy" is a buzzword that sites entertain with their users, however, no matter how "private" one thinks his or her profile is, it is possible for other individuals or search engines to see their content. Many youth believe that if they do not use their real name or their actual age, they are not at risk; most people believe that security through obscurity will serve as a functional barrier online. For the most part, this is a reasonable assumption.

The most relevant concern with young adults and social networking sites is that the technology provides unfettered ease of connecting to strangers through the web which may be individuals who want to harm or take advantage of these young adults. "Unfortunately for teens, there are two groups who have a great deal of interest in them: those who hold power over them – parents, teachers, government officials, etc.—and those who wish to prey on them –marketers and predators” (Boyd, 2008).

Parents express concern "around the possibility of sexual predators and pedophiles finding and then assaulting adolescents who carelessly or unwittingly reveal identifiable information on their personal profile pages” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). Finding methods to regulate participation in these instances can be nearly impossible; however, it is absolutely imperative that we limit it where possible for the safety and security of the youth in question.

Ways to combat these difficult security threats can often be challenging and is forcing society to take innovative approaches that emphasize the importance of parental awareness and community support. Some are calling for, “pediatricians to advocate for thoughtful and useful legislation that has the possibility of truly protecting the health and well being of youth” (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). Legislation and legal action comes at a grave cost with the potential of consequences; this time and money could be far better spent in the area of prevention, “such as funding for online youth outreach programs, school anti-bullying programs, and online mental health services” (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). Pediatricians can also serve as a great resource for families with questions as to what does and does not constitute online victimization. “They should help parents understand that it is less the technology and more a child’s psychosocial profile and general online behavior that is influential in explaining the likelihood of online interpersonal victimization” (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008).

Parents are another element of the equation itself. Parents should place less emphasis on the use of the social networking site itself, as any use of the internet should raise the concern for risk, but rather they should focus on who, where, and what their children are discussing online (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008).

Beyond the scope of parents and doctors, is the network operators’ responsibility to limit content, create age restrictions, and to utilize user agreements that are sensitive to these issues. Operators should provide easy instructions and educational materials to demonstrate methods of online protection. The biggest concern should be for the behaviors themselves, the sense of security, and the perception of online safety. “Policy proposals that aim to reduce the vulnerability of youth to sexual victimization online should focus not on restricting access to certain types of online communication tools but instead on mental health interventions for vulnerable youth and internet safety education that apply to all types of online communications” (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008).