Reader Response Draft 2

In the article “The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks”, Emm (2014) points out that we are immensely reliant on the Internet nowadays. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, the Internet has become a necessity in our daily lives. As we reveal too much of ourselves to the online community, we are not only compromising our own safety, but also potentially jeopardising our own credibility.

The widespread use of technology in today’s society has no doubt affected our daily lives. Just like what Emm has mentioned in his article, we inevitably exposed the “minutiae of our daily lives” because “more and more of what we do is dependent on” the Internet. By revealing ourselves to the online community, we are also inviting potential dangers. As such, over-sharing indeed jeopardises our personal safety.

Our online security is essentially compromised when we make use of the Internet for daily uses. As the Internet becomes an integral part of our lives, we ingeniously utilise it to ease convenience and save time. The advent of online banking and online shopping can serve such purpose. However, careless use of these platforms will allow criminals to unscrupulously obtain our personal and financial information. In UK alone, £29.3million damages have been done due to online banking fraud in 2014 (Boyce, 2014). More than 8000 Australians were victims of online shopping frauds in 2013 (Gillespie, 2013). Evidently, the Internet does not promise and assure personal and financial security. Coupled with the fact that such crimes are hard to track, it is not surprising if the above mentioned numbers rise in the near future.

By exposing ourselves to the Internet, our privacy will also be threatened. This is especially so since social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow people from all around the world to gain access into our lives by encouraging “registered users to provide as much information as possible” (Lewis, n.d.). Although such a practice may seem insignificant, it actually enables identity theft and fraud, data mining, and even ‘catfishing’. Social networking sites like YouTube and Flickr allow identity thieves to gain deeper insight into our lives, thus facilitating their wrongdoings (Lewis, n.d.). Data-mining companies intrude into our privacy and use social networking sites to “compile user profiles for advertising companies” (“The Consequences of Over-sharing on Social Networks”, n.d.). People involved in ‘catfishing’ create fake personas and relationships so as to deceive and make use of their victims (Herrera, 2013). Infringement of personal privacy will certainly bring about distress and complications. This situation can be related this to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four whereby he highlighted the idea of how “Big brother is watching you”. The lack of control over your online privacy has made the Internet a dreadful place.

Even though over-sharing on social media jeopardises our personal safety, it still has its fair share of benefits. Over-sharing allows us to remain globally connected. Social media brings us closer to old friends and may even serve to reunite long-lost family members (“The Consequences of Over-sharing on Social Networks”, n.d.). For instance, Samantha Futerman, a Korean American, reunited with her long lost twin sister Anais Bordier (who was living in Paris then) through Facebook in 2013 (Goldstein, 2013). Other than connecting with friends and family, a broad networking circle can also assure a better job. In fact, more and more employers are turning to social media to look for potential candidates (“Finding a job – Using social media: Intro, n.d.). Indeed, the integration of the Internet into our daily lives has made it impossible for us to live without it.

Judging from how dependent we are on the Internet, precautions have to be taken as we divulge information of ourselves online. Elm urged the public to be vigilant and also provided advices to protect oneself from the perils of the online community. We have to be careful of what we share on the Internet, and make sure not to let our guards down. If we learn how to properly utilise social networking sites, the benefits of the Internet will definitely outweigh the drawbacks of sharing on social media.

(638 words)

References:

Boyce, L. (2014, September 12). Online banking fraud increases by 71% in a year - and surging numbers fall victim to sneaky telephone scammers. This is Money. Retreived from http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2753277/Online-banking-fraud-increases-71-year-according-FFA-UK.html

Emm, D. (2014, March 21). The perils of over-sharing in social networks. Huffpost Tech. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-emm/the-perils-of-over-sharing-in-social-networks_b_5005276.html.

Finding a job – Using social media: Intro. Columbia University Centre for Career Education. Retrieved from http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/tipsheets/finding-job-using-social-media-intro.

Gillespie, I. (2013, August 9). Consumers warned as online fraud soars. The Age. Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/consumers-warned-as-online-fraud-soars-20130809-hv1c9.html.

Goldstein, S. (2013, April 3). South Korean twins separted at birth? Two women connected on Facebook share eerie resemblance. Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/adopted-south-koreans-twins-separated-birth-article-1.1307240.

Herrera, M. (2013, January 2013). Catfishing: new label for old scam. Better Business Bureau. Retreived from http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/01/catfishing-new-label-for-old-scam/.

Lewis, K. (n.d.). How social media networks facilitate identity theft and fraud. Entrepreneur Organization. Retrieved from http://www.eonetwork.org/octane-magazine/special-features/social-media-networks-facilitate-identity-theft-fraud.

The consequences of oversharing on social networks. Reputation.com. Retrieved from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/the-consequences-of-oversharing-on-social-networks.