Privacy refers to a state of being free from public attention while being privacy aware means being conscious of the type of content that you make public on your social media accounts and online in general. Letting out sensitive information about yourself isn’t bad at all as long as it’s a matter of choice. The problem arises when people misuse this information for harmful purposes. There are several consequences of not being privacy aware described below.
Hackers get access to your personal information.
We may randomly take a picture with our friends and post them online while tagging each other. We sometimes even go as far as putting hashtags under our posts. Hackers can use these mediums to get information about you. This Is usually the first stage of hacking, gathering information about a prospective victim.
They can link you with the tagged people and get to know information like your birth date, age, which school you attend, etc. These are sensitive details that a vast majority of us use as our pins and passwords so we don’t easily forget.
Read Also: Why your digital self is most likely not safe online.
Identity theft.
It becomes easier for people to steal our identities when they constantly know what we are up to with our lives, where we live, the places we visit, our friends, family members, and even the names of our dogs. The perception of people towards posting activities online is usually no big deal but consequently, attackers can gather this information, stealing identities for malicious reasons. The solution isn’t that people shouldn’t post at all, but they should be smart about it to avoid being a victim. They should keep their social media account private and select who gets to see what information.
Read Also: Best Social media Security Practice for Data Privacy
Harassment and Catfishing.
When we aren’t privacy-aware, we accept friend requests from strange people we don’t know. These people may tend to harass us by spamming with messages or suspicious and irrelevant content. On the other hand, Catfishing seeks to lure individuals into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona or fake identity. A juicy profile leaves trails and generates interest for attackers.
Damage to reputation.
Be careful what you post online! Posts and activities on social media can negatively and positively affect our reputation. A negative reputation from inappropriate social media use can negatively affect the reputations of brands you affiliate with, organizations, trust, and ethical reputation. Individuals have control over their lives online, but it is important to manage who has access to what we post on social media. Consequences of not being privacy aware
Criticism and cyberbullying.
We may post pictures of ourselves or friends posing for the camera or even memes containing different kinds of information. Individuals may consider the content to be inappropriate but you find nothing wrong with it. They also may come as far as letting you know what they think about it whether rudely or politely.
To avoid being judged negatively, adjust your privacy settings such that, only individuals you select can view and engage on your post. Similarly, giving every user online access to your social media profile creates room for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a repeated behavior, where an individual aims at angering, scaring or shaming targets. Examples of these activities include;
- Spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos of someone on social media
- Sending hurtful messages or threats via messaging platforms
- Impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf.
Cyberbullying leaves a digital footprint – a record that can prove useful and provide evidence to help stop the abuse.
In conclusion, learn about the privacy settings of your favorite social media apps.
privacy-aware.
Consequences of not being privacy-aware.
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2 Responses
This is a very good write-up.Everyone needs to adopt this fully to avoid stories that touch later as the internet never forgets
Spot on Emmanuel!