Teens And Online Reputation With Social Media Sites

Anuradha is a young 9th grader. While others in her class are busy studying for the upcoming exams, Anuradha spends hours on social networking sites without the knowledge of her parents. Anuradha managed to find a friend on Facebook one day and since then, is often found accessing face book either at school through her costly mobile phone or at home on her laptop. One day her new friend asked her for her bank details online. His reason was that he wanted to transfer some money into Anuradha’s account so that she could buy herself a beautiful diamond necklace. Anuradha innocently shared her bank account details with her new found friend.

The next day money was missing from her account and her new found friend had deleted her for good from his Facebook page. This is not only the story of Anuradha, but millions of youngsters across the world, who doesn’t know that their Bank details can be hacked. No doubt worse things happen on social networking sites. After all why not? Even Facebook began in the same manner with founder Marc Zuckerberg lashing out unpleasant details about his girlfriend for everybody in college to know. Today, a year later Anuradha is very careful about the information, pictures, and comments she sends and posts on Facebook. Her profile is set to private and the best part is that she now knows that nothing is ever really private online.

I know teens that have been in trouble before for pictures and inappropriate material they have on their profiles. Her advice to all the youth is simple: "Be smart about what you put on the Internet, because you never know who is looking at what you have on there." One must understand the concept of these social networking sites says Anuradha. From the first time you log on to a social networking site you are actually creating your online identity which is different from your real-world identity. You can change your look or the way you act and present yourself to others, in a manner you usually don’t. A reputation can easily go for a toss on the Internet, if you’re not careful.

Here are some facts to consider so that you can safeguard your online identity and reputation:

• The virtual world a place where nothing is temporary and there are no "take-backs. All your information is open to the general public for anyone to copy, save, and forward your information.

• Anyone who accesses your profile on a social networking site can copy or screen-capture information and photos that you may not want the world to see. Don't rely on the site's default settings. Read each site's instructions or guidelines to make sure you're doing everything you can to keep your material private.

• Be aware of copyright issues.

• Change your password frequently because your identity can be hacked. Also ensure that you never share them with anyone other than your parents or a trusted adult.

• Avoid posting obscene material or any content that you would not want your parents or relatives to see and feel ashamed about. That’s because even if it's on a private page, it could be hacked or copied and forwarded.

• Avoid responding to inappropriate requests.