No such thing as private
IN RECOGNITION of Women's Month, female-friendly insurance company, 1st for Women Insurance, issues guidelines for safe social media use.
As we plug in to the burgeoning world of social media, making friends, supporting social causes and sending photos with a click, it becomes easy to forget our instincts for privacy. The impulse to share can compromise our reputations and even our safety.
When everyone online is a friend, sharing personal information seems harmless, but the more you make available, the more vulnerable you become.
“Seemingly innocuous personal titbits collected over time often add up to a picture of who you are, where you work, live and socialise, and what your habits are – all valuable information,” said 1st for Women Insurance’s executive head, Robyn Farrell.
To avoid sharing with strangers, use the privacy and security settings that social media sites provide. Check these regularly and don’t assume that default settings will keep you safe.
Be aware of what you share. Don’t allow online games and other apps access to your contacts, be cautious about sharing your physical location, and don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. Never accept a friend request from someone you don’t know.
Online risks can come not from other people, but from yourself. Damage to your professional reputation is a real danger if you are not careful about what you post. There is no such thing as private –and immediately deleting that embarrassing photograph does not prevent its being copied and distributed without your knowledge.
“According to recent research on forbes.com, 62 percent of employers use the Internet to discover additional information about a job candidate. With this in mind, always think before you tweet or post pictures and information,” advised Farrell.
Ensure that your privacy settings allow you to review content posted by friends before it appears on your profile, and consider separating your personal and professional lives with different social networking accounts.
“Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security,” said Farrell. “It’s up to you to limit your exposure and protect yourself. Social networking is meant to be fun. Keep it that way by staying safe online.”
