One of the great things about social networking sites is that you can share information with many people, and fast. But remember that anything you post may be seen by lots more people than you may think.
Posting online
Most sites allow you to create a profile for yourself. This can be as simple as a username and contact email address, or it may include a photo, a description of you, likes and dislikes, music and videos. It may also link in to your online friends’ profiles. It could be seen by thousands of people and not everyone will agree with what you write.
When posting on websites it’s also worth thinking about the impression you’re creating – would the things you write or the pictures you post cause embarrassment in real life? How would you feel if a potential employer or your parents saw things that you posted?
Be cautious
Be careful about the personal details you post online. Little bits of information can be used by others to build up a picture of you that could be misused. Don’t reveal your home address, telephone number, date of birth or where you work to strangers.
Keep your password safe and avoid obvious ones that others may guess, particularly if you also use it for other things. It’s also worth having a separate email address just for social networking so you don’t have to give away any other contact details.
Privacy settings
Any decent social networking website should have clear and visible privacy settings. They can usually be accessed from the homepage of your account, along with other general options. You can adjust privacy settings to control who can see your information, and how much they can see.
Here are some top tips on using privacy settings:
- Consider using the highest privacy settings when you first create your profile, then gradually adjust them and allow networking features only when you feel comfortable. This way, you won’t be making information available unless you really want to.
- Think about what you want to use your profile for. If you only want to keep in touch with family and close friends, set your profile up so that it can only be accessed by those people.
- You can set up your profile so that people can only access it if you have approved them. Once you accept someone as a friend, they’ll be able to access all the info and photos you have on your profile. You can always remove friends or followers if you change your mind, but by then they may have already seen your details.
- On some social networking sites, people that aren’t your approved friends will still be able to see some details on your profile. It’s worth checking what they will be able to see. On Facebook, you can choose to make people 'limited friends’, so they will only have access to a cut-down version of your profile.
- If you don’t understand how to adjust your settings or you feel that you aren’t being given enough options, get in touch with the site administrator or customer service team. If you still aren’t happy, consider not using the website.
But enjoy!
Most people do use social networking sites safely. They are a great way of meeting new friends and keeping in touch with old ones. Control access to yourself online the same way you would offline. As long as sites allow you to control who you contact, who contacts you and what, if any, information they find out about you, they can be a privacy-friendly way to socialise.
If something starts to spoil your enjoyment – unwanted attention, offensive comments – report it to the site administrator. Above all, learn how the sites you use work and use them safely. Happy networking!
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