Social Media Privacy Issues Essay Examples

Social media has come to change how people share information over the internet. The rise of sites like Facebook, twitter and 2go has seen individuals with knowledge in information technology owning 2 to 3 social accounts. The social media has affected how people relate to each other online without need of meeting. Sites like Facebook have gone a step further to get listed in stock market. The listing in the stock market means that the site is a corporation that can report losses or profits at the end of its financial period. Facebook as a social media website has contributed to my privacy loss through sharing data with marketing companies, sharing pictures without authorization and employers reading my status updates.
The main cause of loss of my privacy on Facebook is because of its use as a marketing site. Companies are able to trace my location through the personal data I supply on Facebook to market their products on my page. The data supplied to these companies sometimes include my age and phone number without any authorization from me. I have received calls from marketingcompanies selling magazines, candies, and clothes. The callers are able to obtain my phone number through Facebook and sometimes go further to take my email address. Marketing firms to spam my email inbox use the email address. Some of the messages received are adverts on drugs that I don’t use or links to companies’ websites.
Facebook has shared my pictures over the World Wide Web without my authorization. The sharing of the picture on the web has made them downloadable by people with internet access. Some of my pictures are used on some sites for purposes of extorting cash from unknowing people. Some people have edited my pictures after downloading them from Facebook. The edited pictures have sometimes caused confrontation with my parents because of the inflammatory messages added on them.
One of my employer to get information on my background and behavior before the interview date has used Facebook. The employer requested for friendship using a fictitious name and, which lured me to accepting the request. Once I accepted the request, the employer was able to read all the updates that I had made since joining Facebook. The employer picked some updates thatwere used as objectives of setting the interview question. The employer questioned whether when I am aggrieved by any decision within the organization I would show my anger through Facebook. The reason for the question was an update that I had made about a quarrel I had with a friend. The loss of privacy on Facebook made me lose the job because the employer claimed I would put the company’s secrets on Facebook.
Facebook lack of educating me on the way to set up privacy on my profile has led to sharing updates without control measures. All my friends on Facebook can view, comment, and read my updates, which leave me without control. Some comments made by friends on my updates are inflammatory which eventually tarnishes my name.
Concisely, FaceBook’s policy of sharing users’ data such as photos and status updates without consent with marketing firms and potential employers has resulted to loss of my privacy. To reduce the loss of privacy on Facebook, civic education on enhancing privacy using tools should be carried out on all users to ensure their discretion. Facebook should stop monetizing on members data by selling it to marketing companies or countries security institution.