“Publish with caution,” should be the tag line of any social networking site and for good reason. There appears to be a feeling of security or invincibility when a user publishes something online. This belief, that there aren’t any consequences, is what could, and has gotten people into trouble. I believe it to be more prevalent with teens and college aged young adults, but anyone who uses a social networking service should be cautious. The reason I bring this up is because of a recent article in the Canton Repository that discusses possible risks associated with social networking, specifically with Facebook and MySpace.

Working at a college I see firsthand the popularity and importance of these services to students. I have students that work for me that check their Facebook account before they check their emails. Where do students go if they want to find out about a person or an event that happened – Facebook! Anyone who has an account puts themselves out there for anyone to see. Our profiles tell more about us than we realize. I admit that I have a Facebook account because I use it to keep in touch with my students and friends. I’m also careful not to post anything that I feel to be private. But, the scary thing is you can have your security settings set to high and be as cautious as anyone, and still be at risk.

According to the article, every time a Facebook user downloads a third-party program for games, sports teams, trivia quizzes and virtual gifts, they are “freely handing over personal information to perfect strangers.” That information is used to connect users with similar interests. Sounds like an innovative idea – connect to users with similar tastes. What we don’t realize is our information is being used by those third party organizations. “Users have little understanding where their information goes and how it’s used – and as a result, have a false sense of security.” For all we know our information could be sold or stolen, which could lead to more serious matters such as identity theft.

When something is online and open to the outside, what is to keep people from using that information? I have always been under the assumption as long as someone doesn’t post something that could have negative ramifications, they’re ok. But in reality, the way the sites are used could be just as damaging.

We just need to be careful and pay better attention to what we download and whom we allow access to these services.

So publish with caution!