One of the topics of focus from chapter 4 revolves around ethics in the Information Age. As technology expands over the years, negative aspects directly correlated with it grow as well. For example, the more time people spend online, the more they are subject to potential predators, less socializing, and increased aggravation and depression. Dyszel’s article discusses the nature of a very popular social networking site, namely Facebook, and offers safety tips for adults in creating their personal profiles.
After establishing the prevalent belief that people basically live and breathe via Facebook, Dyszel notes one of the most common side effects of the site: humiliation. A Facebook friend will typically post something embarrassing on your wall, which automatically reaches all your contacts, including business contacts you worked so hard to earn respect from. Granted, you have to be a Facebook member to view others’ profiles, and there do exist numerous other websites that could reveal equally embarrassing information (i.e. Google), but having a Facebook profile poses a risk for one’s professional reputation. Certain points to keep in mind about Facebook include 1) it is a website designed by adolescents for adolescents, 2) it is not designed to be an effective business tool, 3) awkward situations may arise in which your boss tries to “friend” you and you can either refuse and risk a potential social headache or you can accept and risk potential humiliation, and 4) new features arise suddenly and can broadcast details about you to the world. This happened once when Facebook collected information on the shopping transactions of its members and relayed that information to others openly. Several protests and lawsuits later, that feature was taken away, but the potential for this website to collect that information and divulge it openly is worrisome.
Scams on Facebook also exist, in which people can hi-jack one of your Facebook friend’s log-in and pretend to be your friend, and either ask for money or information. The safety tip offered for this type of scenario is to be smart and ask for personal contact, such as over the phone, to verify your friend’s identification, or to just avoid the situation completely. Other scenarios involve “friends” inviting other friends to view certain videos online that require downloading, and that turns out to be infected malware. Facebook creates a comfortable atmosphere in which a person feels he knows all his friends and can trust them, and so people tend to let their guard down. Therefore, precautions must be taken.
Dyszel offers certain safety tips for dealing with Facebook. First, it is imperative to make your profile private so that only select individuals may view it. A feature exists that allows for you to select among these individuals who can view which pictures or information. Secondly, if there is a risk of professional embarrassment, do not put your business contacts in the email address you supply Facebook with when registering. Next, you can choose who is allowed to see the pictures that your friends tag you with. Finally, if a business contact wants to be your friend on Facebook, suggest connecting through another website, such as LinkedIn, to save yourself that professional embarrassment.
I think these safety tips are good, but I think the best way to avoid any problems is to not have a facebook profile at all. I don’t quite understand the need for one since the telephone and email exist for contacting people you know. Also, graduate schools and workplaces are looking into myspace and facebook accounts to get a better feel for the individual. I was certainly asked if I have either account when interviewing for my job. Thus, in my opinion, it is just easier not to have an extra weight to worry about.
Reference:
Dyszel, B.(2009).Online Safety Tips for Facebook Fogeys. Retrieved April 10, 2009,
from PC Magazine.
Website: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340357,00.asp
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Technology is just another tool that make us more effective and amplifies our good and bad qualities. If one wants to expose oneself which I believe these social networks in one sense what is all about, and if one do not know how to do it properly then becomes victim of its own action. Like a knife or a pistol, one is more likely hurt oneself if does not know how to use it. Technology used to get into our lives slowly but it's pace getting accelerated more and more and many are unaware of consequences of their actions. Especially with these social networking tools. It is good to have them, but companies who develop these systems should not assume about their users and provide clear, understandable, actionable guidelines that will direct users. However it is not an easy task if you are in the race to expand your market share as fast as you can.
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