How Else Will Your Privacy Be Taken?

In the article Looking for a Job?  Beware of this Privacy Risk, you learned how looking for work could lead to a breach in your privacy.  This is a risk for only those who are currently looking for a job.  There is another privacy risk that should be a concern to everyone, regardless of age or state of employment.  Employers and schools are demanding to know your social media information.

Many companies do not want their names mentioned in social media unless they have control over what is being said.  The only way these companies have to keep control over this is by checking each employee’s social media accounts to make sure nothing derogatory is being said about the company.  Because anyone can set privacy controls, the only way to know everything that an employee says on social media is to have full access to the accounts.  That is why employers are asking for the log-in names and passwords of all employees. 

 

Employers are not only looking for what is said about the company, or if the employee has the company name listed as their place of employment, they are also looking for anything inappropriate that may be posted.  Pictures of wild parties or visits to a nude beach may just get you fired.  True, these parties and beach pictures were taken on your leisure time, but now, unless you have a contract, you are considered an “at will” employee.  This means that your employer can terminate your employment for any reason.  Even if you have a contract, most of them have a morals clause, so any inappropriate postings could void the contract.

Is Social Media Stressing Your Kids?

It’s part of my job to search the Internet for subjects that have to do with Internet privacy.  In the past couple of months, I’ve seen a lot of questions on answer sites that have to do with kids and social media.  Most of these questions involve getting “Likes” on their social media pages.

Kids today are under enough pressure in their real lives when it comes to school and grades.  Now, it seems that these kids are adding pressure on themselves all because of social media.  Instead of worrying about having an active social life with real friends, these kids are stressing over the fact that their Facebook profile picture isn’t getting enough likes.  If they don’t have enough followers or “Likes” on Instagram and Twitter, it’s like the end of the world.

I have seen 13 year olds begging for likes because it’s “embarrassing” that their profile picture only got 10 “Likes” on Facebook.  Others are depressed that they only have 15 followers on Instagram.  Others yet are blogging on Tumblr about personal things and asking strangers to read their blogs and follow them. 

 

They are actually going on answer sites to beg for “Likes” and followers.  Not only that, it has become so important to them that they are actually going to sites to buy “Likes” and followers.  It’s scary to think that these kids are our future, yet they find nothing wrong with the practice of buying “Likes”.  When did it become acceptable to buy rewards instead of earning them?  I’d like to know how many parents are keeping track of their kids’ social media pages to see that they are actually cheating and if they approve of this cheating.  In other words:  What are we teaching our kids?

The cost isn’t a lot, but in order to pay the $1 to $3 charge, a credit card or PayPal account is needed.   This brings up a whole other issue:  privacy.  Do you know who your kids are giving your credit card number to in order to buy these “Likes” and followers?  What about the actual followers?  They need to be able to see everything posted in order to “Like” things on your children’s pages.  Strangers will know where your children live, what they look like, what schools they go to.  These strangers will see posts saying that the family will be away on vacation or pictures of your kids at the beach.  They will be able to see those slumber party videos posted to Facebook, which include other parents’ kids.  How will those other parents feel knowing that strangers are watching what should be private videos? 

 

Parents need to teach their kids that social media isn’t something to get stressed out about, or depressed over.  It wasn’t intended to stress over; it was intended as a way to express our thoughts and keep in touch with friends and family.  I doubt very much the intention was to make teenagers feel bad about themselves because only 3 people “Liked” their profile picture. 

 

The minimum age for social media is 13 years old.  Some kids are mature enough at 13 to realize that what happens on social media really isn’t what’s important.  For others, it’s a place that means everything.  Parents need to teach their kids that while it’s good to be creative on Tumblr and Instagram and share views on Facebook and Twitter, it should not be the defining factor in a teenager’s life.  Each parent knows their own child best to determine whether or not social media is right for that child. 

 

In order to keep your privacy safe, parents must teach their kids not to give out personal information over the Internet.  Another way to stay safe is to surf the Internet anonymously with a proxy server.  Please take advantage of our FREE trial offer and see how changing your IP Address and encrypting every connection will make you feel safer knowing that you can’t be found.

Do You Regret Some Social Media Posts?

Every day, all over the world, people are signing on to the Internet and their social media accounts.  Facebook alone has millions of users worldwide who keep in touch with family and friends.  Then, there are those who use LinkedIn to keep up with business contacts or create new ones and still others who aren’t happy unless they check their Twitter accounts several times a day.  Do you have photos or videos you want the world to see?  No problem!  For that, there are Instagram and YouTube.  Social media is so important in our lives that most people have accounts with all of these giants.  Love it or hate it, it seems that social media is here to stay.  

In the early years of the Internet, in order to surf the web, you needed to be either home or in your office sitting in front of your computer.  Today, everywhere you look, people are on the Internet.  There are so many gadgets available with Internet access that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are available at the touch of an icon.  With your smartphone, tablet or iPod, the Internet is at your fingertips no matter where you are.  Because of this easy access, many people will hit that “Send” button without really thinking things through. 

Work can be stressful and your commute home is often the first time you had all day to just sit and relax.  As the bus brings you closer to home, you pick up your smartphone and post a rant on Facebook about your incompetent co-workers, your idiotic boss and how all the work falls on you or it would never get done.  As soon as you hit “Send”, you feel as if a weight has lifted off your shoulders.  You spend the rest of your commute either reading or catching a quick nap and in no time, your Facebook rant is forgotten.  Well, it’s forgotten until the next morning when you walk into the office and are greeted with angry stares and your boss is waiting for you at your desk with your final paycheck and your personal items packed away.  You don’t understand what’s happening and then you remember your rant.  You also remember that all of your co-workers and your boss are your Facebook friends. 

 

Another common mistake is recording a friends’ night out.  All through the night, martini after martini, you and your friends are snapping pictures with your smartphones and posting them to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.  At the end of the night, you and your friends decide that it would be “fun” to make use of the stripper pole on the stage to show your most seductive moves.  As each of you has a turn, the others are making videos and posting them to YouTube.  You and a few million others will see it the next day.  If it goes viral, maybe you’ll even see yourself on the news in a week or so. 

 

Then there are those who feel the need to update their relationship status each time they get a new girlfriend or boyfriend.  I don’t know why there is a need to let the world know that “Joanie is in a relationship with Chachi”, but, it gets posted and stays on the couple’s Facebook Timelines long after they break up.  Imagine all the relationship statuses there can be until you find Mr./Ms. Right. 

There used to be a time when drunk-dialing had to wait until you were home; today, you can drunk-dial your ex as you’re sitting at the bar!  But it doesn’t end at drunk-dialing; there is now drunk-Tweeting and drunk-Facebooking.  It’s so convenient to have this technology, but what happens when you realize that you blasted your co-worker, your boss or your significant other on Facebook or Twitter? 

Yes, social media at your fingertips turns normally reasonable people into unreasonable people.  No one seems to consider that Facebook updates and tweets in real time could be dangerous.  Letting the world know where you are every second allows you to be found by anyone.  It also lets thieves know that you aren’t home and the time to strike is now.  So, the question is:  Do you regret some of your social media posts?

Privacy is one of our most valuable commodities.  So many things can compromise our privacy, so don’t let social media be yet another risk.  Before you post anything, step back and ask yourself the following questions:

1.   How will this be viewed by my employer, prospective employer or university? 

2.   In the future, will this post embarrass me?

3.   Would I be embarrassed if my parents or children saw this?

4.   Can I lose my job if my boss sees this post?

Immediately delete the comment, video or photo if you answered “yes” to these questions.

All of us would like to keep our privacy safe.  At the top of this page there is a free download of our Privacy Guide.  Please take us up on this offer.  You will see many suggestions on how you can keep your private life private.

The Invasion of “Cyber-Bullies”

Bullies have been around for decades.  Before the Internet, bullying was limited to the school yard or neighborhoods.   The victim was confronted by the bully and a group of his or her friends and taunted.  A lot of times, after the last school bell rang, the taunting became physical and the victim was beaten up.  The reasons for the bullying were varied.  Maybe the victim was from a poor family and couldn’t afford all the newest clothes.  It could have been because a child wore glasses, or braces, or had freckles.  It could even have been because the teacher singled out one child to always help pass out test papers or to answer questions in class.  Whatever the so-called reason was, bullies were an ever-present threat to the happy childhood of many kids.  Today is no different except that in this age of technology, most of the bullying happens over the Internet.  Welcome to the age of the cyber-bully.

Bullying is no longer confined to the school yard or the neighborhoods.  Now, a cyber-bully can hide behind a computer and remain nameless and faceless.  The attacks no longer happen just at school; they are carried out over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Since most kids today have cell phones that also take really good pictures, it’s easy for one to snap an unflattering picture of a classmate and send it over the Internet for all to see.  Captions are added to make the pictures even more humiliating.  In the movie “Mean Girls”, the group of “cool girls” had a “burn book” with photos and comments about those they hated.  Today, that “burn book” is a Facebook page made for the sole purpose of hurting others.

During the last few weeks, I have seen quite a few stories on the news about kids, some as young as 10, killing themselves because they were cyber-bullied.  Why?  Because some nameless, faceless cowards started rumors about them online, or posted pictures of them that they were embarrassed by.  And, yes, these cyber-bullies are cowards.  They don’t have the nerve to say something face to face, but behind a computer screen, they’re brave.  A very unnerving facet of all this is that the cyber-bully could be the victims best friend in real life; the friend that he or she confides in and who pretends to give support. 

   

Parents need to talk to their kids about this issue.  Kids need to understand that what happens online is unimportant.  What’s important is real life.  Those who know you know what is true and what is false.  The kids also need to know that they have to confide in a parent or teacher if they find themselves in a cyber-bullying situation.  How many lives could have been saved if these kids knew they could talk to someone about what they were going through?  The schools need to be made aware of any instances of cyber-bullying.  In some cases, the police should get involved.  If things get out of hand, the police will be able to track down a cyber-bully.

Above all, the victims of cyber-bullying need to know that suicide is never the answer.  It may seem like all is hopeless, but it’s not.  Dear Abby once said that suicide is “a permanent solution to a temporary problem”.  This is so true.  Parents should monitor their kids’ social media pages.  They can’t let this go on until it’s too late.  Let your kids know not to give a cyber-bully the power to control their lives.  Cyber-bullies and real life bullies truly are just cowards who act tough to appear brave.  The only way to stop them is to take a stand and show them that their words can’t hurt you.  Hold your head up high and don’t listen to the whispered comments or read their hate on social media.  If everyone took a stand against these bullies, they would continue to move on to the next victim and the next until they realize that no one cares what they have to say.  It’s up to the parents to teach their kids the art of ignoring.

We all want our kids to be safe.  Please take a few minutes to download the free Privacy Guide located at the top of this page.  It will give suggestions and tips on how to stay safe in many online and off line situations.