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Privacy and Social Network
Introduction
The incessant advent of social media sites extinguishes the importance of privacy in social networking. Nowadays, people share personal information on social networking sites. This is because social networking encourages persons to reveal information that may be crucial for their welfare. However, sharing private information poses terrible consequences on social media users today. Some implications come in the form of crimes such as data extortion. Furthermore, individuals report instances of data breach, especially in their accounts. Sections of people have also reported instances of identity theft because of revealing personal data. Additionally, social crimes such as cyber bullying further depict the consequences of insufficient privacy in social media sites. Nevertheless, the issue of privacy in social networks, centers on the provision of personal information especially in online accounts. These social media sites persuade people to reveal sensitive information for the purposes of owning accounts.
Statement of Issue
The main issue arising from privacy and social networking involves the provision of private information by users, especially for online accounts. Online accounts coax individuals to own networking accounts. However, for one to own an online account, he or she should reveal the information requested by the respective online site. Social media platforms comprise websites established to enable social networking among peers. Social sites are the main facilitators of social networking. The advancements made in technology due to globalization have allowed people from different regions to interact on a single platform. As a result, the world is developing to a global village interconnected by social networking.
Proofs
Usually, social media sites are more popular among young persons, especially teenagers. According to Madden et al (2), teens share personal information on social media sites considerably. The rate at which they convey such information increases significantly. Consequently, popular media sites among the youth persuade more of them to engage in social networking. Such popular sites in the social networking realm comprise Twitter and Facebook (Quan-Haase & Young, 352). These sites allow people to reveal delicate information. For instance, most people post their pictures on these sites. These pictures allow them to reveal their identity to millions of people interacting in these sites.
Additionally, social media users post their birth names, places of learning or work, phone numbers as well as their email address (Madden et al, 3). Therefore, social media sites possess large quantities of personal data. Furthermore, there is a drastic increase in the number of adults accessing such platforms. Adults tend to disclose private data such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other private data that motivate the prevalence of data breach especially in social networking sites. Thus, social media sites facilitate the provision of personal information among members seeking to indulge in social networking.
The main dispute arising from this issue, however, involves the responsibility of social media sites towards guarding personal information. People reveal exclusive data based on the notion that social media sites are secure. However, this is a misguided notion. Usually, social networking platforms allow individuals to reveal sensitive information at their own expense. As such, they are not liable for the harm done on the person if there is a violation of data. Social media stages are not responsible for invasions in information privacy. Determann (2) states that, “…social media platforms are not directly responsible for user generated privacy invasions”. Therefore, the possibility of data breach will not affect the social networking platform, even at the expense of data loss. As such, persons seeking to make privacy claims on these platforms will be unsuccessful. This is because privacy laws do not hinder social sites from obtaining such information.
Personal Opinion
The controversy arising from this dispute involves user-generated material. User-generated material comprises content availed to social media sites by users. This content comprises personal data such as names, pictures, internet addresses and other requested information. Social media sites entice individuals to reveal specific information for purposes of interaction. Additionally, these networking platforms allow people to share their activities, as well as private information with other users. These activities disregard the essence of privacy and put the respective users at risk. Furthermore, since the users reveal such content willingly, social media sites are not answerable for breach of such data. Answerability is admissible since users are usually aware of the risk that they face if they join the sites. Thus, the user usually possesses full information regarding his choice to interact socially.
Conclusion
The observance of privacy in social networking presents a formidable issue. Social networking platforms encourage people to reveal sensitive information. Such information poses various risks to the users especially if it ends up in the wrong hands. Furthermore, social media sites are unanswerable to the users if there is a breach of data. Thus, the implications arising from the privacy issue indicate the importance of information protection. Privacy in social networking is essential. This is because it ensures that delicate data is secured and free from malicious use. Thus, observing privacy is a vital activity especially with the substantial increase of social networking in the modern society.
Works Cited
Determann, Lothar. “Social Media Privacy: A Dozen Myths and Facts”. Stanford Technology Law Review. 7 (2012): 1-14. Print.
Madden, Mary, Amanda Lenhart, Sandra Coretesi, Urs Gasser, Maeve Duggan and Aaron Smith. “Teens, Social Media and Privacy.” Pew Research Center Report. (2013): 1-107. Print.
Quan-Haase, Anabel, and Alyson Young. “Uses and Gratifications of Social Media: a Comparison of Facebook and Instant Messaging.” The Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society. 30.5 (2010): 350-361. Print.