I’m part of the “Facebook generation” that originally needed to use a college email address to signup, had no “real” privacy settings to worry about, and happily gave the details of our daily lives to millions! Life was good, and then Facebook grew up…
Fast-forward 7 or 8 years and things are very, very different. Long gone are the days when you could so openly connect with long lost friends, meet new people. As the worlds largest social network has evolved, so too have the attitudes of the users that fill its shiny new data canters with a swirling torrent of images, videos, comments, likes, and shares… With 1 billion users of all ages and walks of life, a whole new social etiquette has developed and it’s forcing many of us to take polar opposite opinions on the big question – “Facestalking…right or wrong?”
Facestalking is what you could affectionately call snooping, albeit on future friends and the lives of your current friends. All harmless (if not occasionally creepy) indulgence of our natural curiosity you might say? Well, not so much…
Angel on your shoulder?
You might see it as an invasion of privacy, but when is it justifiable? New York Police have been using Facebook to monitor suspected criminals who can’t resist the urge to “brag” about their real-world crimes; in order to stem the growing issue of gang violence.
Devil whispering in your ear?
Some employers recently came under fire after requesting Facebook login details from interview candidates and employees! Mashable’s “rules of engagement” from earlier this year helped give affected users some advice on how to deal with this.
Food for thought, if this Facebook junkie is starting to take privacy seriously, then isn’t it about time you did?
What do you think?
I work for Trend Micro and the opinions expressed here are my own.
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