It seems like every single person on the entire planet is connected to one another through social media — so much so, that the Six Degrees of Separation theory, stating that each individual is only five people away from knowing anyone else, seems a lot more plausible, setting the science aside. Around 98 percent of college students have some form of social media account or another.
The first thing people, and I include myself, do in the morning is scroll through their online apps like Facebook and Instagram as if these apps are the daily newspaper. Social media certainly makes it easier to stay in touch globally as everyone in our lives is merely a few taps away, giving us the ability to communicate instantly. Also, it’s undoubtedly a golden source of gossip — so all of these factors admittedly make the internet a more fun and entertaining place to be.
However, broadcasting all sorts of events, from life-changing to extremely trivial, has become second nature to people. Announcing their every move, every hour throughout their day, is how some normally function. It’s not that surprising, though, since actively “liking and commenting” on social media has been found to reward the pleasure centers of the brain with a rush of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with happiness.
Snapchat and Instagram are the current rage, since updates can disappear either as soon as you view them, or within 24 hours. According to a Business Insider article, 8,796 Snapchat photos are sent per second. It’s the equivalent of calling all of the people in your friend or follower list – whom you may or may not personally know – to actively inform them what’s changed in the past hour.
Many users choose to leave their profiles public and open to anyone. This is how people with malicious intent can take advantage of this information and use it in their own interests. Thus, it is best to keep your online identity as private as possible, or even to refrain from sharing personal information like financial details.
The nature of your posts can affect your current and future career and internship prospects. Two-thirds of employers run background checks on potential employees while reviewing their applications. Lately, people are even adding their employers as friends or followers for the sake of increasing their circles, which, in turn, makes them privy to all of their online activity. For instance, if you post updates and photos of you frequently getting wasted or being involved in questionably “illegal” situations, you could lose your current job, or it could negatively impact your chances of getting called in for an interview.
Last June, Harvard denied admission to ten prospective students in the class of 2021 for sharing racist and culturally offensive memes in a private Facebook group chat. People wanting to join the group chat were made to post a joke of similar outrageous offensiveness in an unofficial Harvard Class of 2021 Accepted Students’ group before being let in. This is the result of oversharing your thoughts, however unethical, to a platform where privacy is not always guaranteed. Anything can be exposed – what happens online, stays online.
Moreover, it is not uncommon for some users to resort to their online accounts to vent out their angsty feelings as if it were a diary. “Around three out of five posts in my Facebook newsfeed are of people subtly providing extra details about their interpersonal lives,” said Meehir Mokashi, a second-year studying business administration.
It’s a lot easier to talk about personal stuff behind a screen, without actually having to interact with real people in real life. Thus, there are less inhibitions when it comes to being completely honest. While this isn’t necessarily grave, why would you want to voluntarily expose your vulnerable thoughts to the world? A much better way to fuel that energy would be to have an actual conversation with a trusted friend or family member.
Social media is forever developing new ways to share information online. There are chances of many things, even seemingly innocent ones, being used against you. It’s important to take a step back for a moment and examine the extent to which your online accounts can supply details which may fall into the wrong hands. Awareness is the best way to safeguard your own privacy online.
