Pale Blue Dot

By TDI Staff

Facebook, Watch Yo’Self

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May 16, 2010 11:18 PM

According to Consumer Reports, over half of all social network users—including those who have Facebook and Twitter accounts—post risky information online. Facebook, they found, had an even higher percentage of users engaged in “risky behavior”—56%. This behavior includes:

1. Using a weak password

2. Listing a full birth date

3. Overlooking privacy controls

4. Posting a child’s name in a caption

5. Mentioning being away from home

6. Letting yourself be found by a search engine [hello, Google]

7. Permitting youngsters to use Facebook unsupervised

While many of these behaviors don’t concern most college students, it is important to keep in mind what you are sharing with people you don’t (and might not care to) know. Recent changes in Facebook privacy settings, for example, have made it a more public network. For example, the default setting on most social network is “public”—open for the world, and your next boss—to see. (For more information on finding a job through Facebook and other social networking sites, click here.)

Moreover, recent studies indicate that many Facebook users aren’t aware of how much they are sharing. Read the whole article here.

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Alexander Kell is a staff writer for The Dartmouth Independent.
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Wyatt McKean
is the Executive Editor of The Dartmouth Independent and co-editor of Smoke Filled Room, TDI's politics, business, and international affairs channel.
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Will Sampson is a Contributing Editor of The Dartmouth Independent and co-editor of The Filling Station, TDI's bartending and drinking channel.
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Becky Waite is a staff writer for The Dartmouth Independent.
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  • Wednesday, February 08, 2012
  • 3:17 PM EDT