The Dangers of Online Personals
I recently read an article about myspace.com, a very popular online personals site with over 45 million users. The article expresses concern over the safety of minors who might post their personal information and become exposed to predators.
I also received a letter this week from campus administrators who were worried that students might be posting sensitive information, such as address and date of birth, and indiscreet photos themselves on facebook.com. Nothing spells incriminating quite like having photos of yourself passed out drunk, still holding a bottle, and being listed as a freshman.
While it may seem like innocent fun, there are definite consequences to posting sensitive information online. If a student later decides to run for public office, the media can easily acquire and publish some not-so-flattering pictures. Forget the paparazzi; people are doing the job themselves these days. I’m willing to bet that even employers are now conducting online background checks.
The moral of the story is that you should protect yourself by keeping sensitive information off the Internet, as it will be found. In this day and age, online privacy is virtually nonexistent.