There's no denying that technology, particularly internet, keeps us well informed and connected to the people that we know (or don't really know). Related tasks have been made so much more convenient and time-efficient. I'm one of those who support the utilisation of today's technology for online matters such as twitting through Twitter, updating through Facebook, sharing videos through YouTube, and blogging. As long as our intentions are clear and not harmful, why not, right?
On the other flip of the coin, there have been cases where some unthoughtful and irresponsible individuals took advantage of the convenience and accessibility provided by the internet. Hacking, identity theft, spamming, and cyber bullying are some of the issues that a lot of us are concerned of. These issues have made the internet seem unsafe to some people. This is understandable. And it's such a pity, considering how advantageous the internet was originally meant to be.
So, to everyone who would like to make good use of this obviously beneficial technological tool without worrying too much about the possible problems it might bring, take some precautions. This is especially for the younger ones. Listen up! Big sis Pris has something to tell you. LOL xD But seriously..
1 - On Facebook, try to approve only your actual friends, family members, and relatives. You can still approve those who are strangers but would like to make friends. JUST REMEMBER to check on their background even though this is actually pretty limited. Plus, they can easily put false information, right? That's why it's safer to approve only those you personally know. In my case, though, I have been approving friend requests from some whom I didn't really know but I only do that for my fellow J-pop or K-pop friends, or actual friends of my siblings or relatives. Besides, I can always unfriendly them if I find their posts to be constantly disturbing or discomforting. *Meanie me, you may think? But it's necessary, okay!*
2 - Twitter is different than Facebook. Even though they are both social network sites, they work in distinguishable ways. Twitter is more publicly accessible unless you set your Twitter account to be private. However, setting it to private kind of goes against its purpose (for fandom-participants, I mean. I'm a devoted fangirl, FYI. ^^). Tweets or hashtags by private Twitter accounts do not count towards the trending on Twitter. As fans of certain groups or soloists, we often want to get specific things to be trending to promote to the world who and what we're rooting for. Apart from that, if your purpose is to connect with only certain people, why not just send them text messages or use Facebook? That's just my opinion. Don't come and stab me if you disagree, okay.
3 - Think twice (or thrice) before making a personal photo public. Once you post in on any online sites, ANYONE can see it. Of course, your intention of posting your photos is to knowingly share the photos with others. It is a good thing to do when you want to update about your whereabouts or activities. Bear in mind, though, that your innocent/ cute/ gorgeous/ charismatic/ lovely photos can be misused by someone with bad intentions. *Ah, screw those who make things complicated for us, right?! If only they back off!* Celebrities might not have problems in this matter because it can actually benefit them in terms of raising public awareness about their existence and promotions. It's part of their PR necessities. But for regular people, it's better to be safe than sorry. That's why I think it's best to accept Facebook friend requests from only those you know. At least on that site, you can still share photos for the sake of your friends and relatives. As for other sites like Twitter or Blogger or Instagram or Google+, extra considerations need to be made. There's always an option of making certain posts private. Another option is to add tags or labels on your photos before sharing them. This way, if your photos happen to be spreaded somewhere else, people can see who they belong to or where they come from based on the tags. *This is something that I haven't been doing for my Twitter and blog but I'm going to do it from now on.* Yes, it's more time-consuming but it's for a good purpose. I recommend PicsArt application for Android users if you want a quick and easy solution in adding tags. Photos of items or sceneries might still be harmless without tags but be more mindful when it comes to photos of people or your own selcas. I'm not trying to sound paranoid but prevention is better than cure! :) I'm actually quite an open person and I don't mind seeing personal photos of others freely being shared. In fact, I don't mind sharing my own photos as well. It's just that we have to be more careful these days. Also, those people in the photos that you share have their privacy rights, you know? What if your own friends want to sue you for publicly share their not-so-viewer-friendly photos? That's bad, right? Yea, I know that your friends won't be that critical but who knows.
4 - Whatever that I have mentioned about photos also apply for videos (and audios?).
See you next time!
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