Privacy of Social Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Privacy of Social Networking - Essay Example Various social networking corporations have tried to raise public awareness about the privacy implications of social networking. Arguably, many online users do not take enough time to carefully read and understand the user agreements required by all social networks, and in most cases, they do sign over their privacy rights to these companies so as to access popular social networks. Arguably, data privacy refers to â€Å"freedom from unauthorized intrusion† (Zheleva and Getoor 277). In regard to personal information, privacy refers to â€Å"the right or desire of individuals to control the release of information about themselves† (Altshuler 234). This paper provides a very thoughtful discussion on the privacy of social networking and noting what online users should do in order to protect their privacy. Basically, social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, Linkedin, and MySpace among others are in most cases used to stay in touch with friends, share information, and make new friends. Studies reveal that there are many active users of these social networks worldwide, and that many college students rely on the internet and social networks to connect with other people almost every day (Timm & Duven 89). While these sites serve as a great way to stay in touch with friends, finding new friends, post pictures, share information among others, these sites are also very popular for people with bad intentions like to hack sent messages and stalk others. Stalking is a severe problem that many online users face (Reiher 10). While most people using social networking services are well intentioned, every online user of social networks need to be careful about the information they share online, and how they protect it because some people can intentionally use the information of a person av ailable online to embarrass, steal their identity and damage their reputation. Therefore, all online users need to consider