I am not very computer savvy, nor “Twitter,” “Facebook,” or other social-networking-sites-savvy. However, at the insistence of my “kids,” I joined Facebook.
I use Facebook sparingly, mainly to look at photos of relatives and friends and, being concerned about privacy, I have kept my “Profile” very lean and my posting very limited.
On the other hand, I notice that many include a lot of personal details in their “Profiles” and post copiously on just about all of their daily activities and personal lives.
I was thus not surprised to read an article in today’s New York Times, urging Facebook users to exercise caution when posting and to check their “Settings” as many who opted for Facebook’s recommended settings when they were recently prompted by Facebook’s “transition tool,” may now be surprised that they “inadvertently gave Facebook the right to publicize your private information including status updates, photos, and shared links.”
But don’t panic, the author of “The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now,” gives step-by-step instructions on how you can decide:
1. Who Can See The Things You Share (Status Updates, Photo, Videos, etc.)
2. Who Can See Your Personal Info
3. What Google Can See
The author, Sarah Perez, concludes:
Take 5 Minutes to Protect Your Privacy.
While you may think these sorts of items aren’t worth your time now, the next time you lose out on a job because the HR manager viewed your questionable Facebook photos or saw something inappropriate a friend posted on your wall, you may have second thoughts. But why wait until something bad happens before you address the issue?
Considering that Facebook itself is no longer looking out for you, it’s time to be proactive about things and look out for yourself instead. Taking a few minutes to run through all the available privacy settings and educating yourself on what they mean could mean the world of difference to you at some later point…That is, unless you agree with Facebook in thinking that the world is becoming more open and therefore you should too.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.