Use social networking sites safely
Using social networking sites safely
Social networking is the latest way to stay in contact with people online . This can be your friends, family and even people you don’t know.
On sites such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook you build up networks of ‘friends’. These can be your actual friends but could easily be someone from miles away depending on your profile privacy settings and interests.
Social networking sites are particularly popular with young people. Online risks young people face include online bullying, disclosing too many personal details, cyber-stalking, access to inappropriate content and in some cases puts them at risk from paedophiles.
Adults also face similar risks including loss of privacy and identity theft.
Protect your privacy online with the following tips from Get Safe Online:
- Don’t disclose any information you don’t feel comfortable with other people knowing, even if that’s what your friends are doing
- Be careful not to disclose too much personal information including photos of your home, your phone number or full name
- Pick a username that doesn’t include any personal information such as where you are
- Have a separate email account specifically for emails from your social networking profiles
- Learn how to use the site properly, in particular the privacy settings, who you let join your network of friends and read the site terms and conditions
- Be wary of emails that try to get personal information from you it may be a spam email, may carry a virus or may be trying to use your information to exploit you
