Well, I have to admit.....I am a Facebook addict!! I have been in contact with old high school alumni, relatives I did not even know I had, and my daughter in laws use it to message me privately of our daily and weekly family events along with all the grandkids sport and school activities that are coming up. I check my Facebook every morning with my cup of coffee, to say hi, post a positive comment or pic and check to see what's new with my Facebook family and friends. The telephone has become obsolete in my house. I have met some wonderful people from all over the United States. The one thing I have noticed is that there are people who are not able to get out of their homes due to sickness or disabilities. There are those who have no close family members whether it be because of distance or disputes, and these people have Facebook to have contact with people.
I know there is the issue with privacy, but I can assure you, that in knowing technology, anyone that has ever logged on to the internet for any reason has become a possible target for their personal information to be accessed. My sister was very much against ever using a computer online because of fear of her privacy being violated. I told her that her bank uses computers online which automatically makes her most private information able to be hacked into. She did not agree with me so I went to my computer, googled her name and up popped her home address, a map to drive to her home and other information about her. She was so upset because never had she ever been online. If you use a cell phone, you are at risk of your information being accessed, look at the article today where the Supreme court ruled the collecting of people's phone records was excessive. In the article is states,
"The appeals judges said the issues raised in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union illustrated the complexity of balancing privacy interests with the nation's security.http://www.aol.com/article/2015/05/07/us-appeals-court-nsa-phone-record-collection-is-excessive/21180744/If our National security is at risk, then I'm pretty sure it's safe to say our individual security is as well. Hence the IRS scandal, seeking out certain political parties to target audits. We are a world of internet usage, and nothing is ever going to keep us 100% safe, or our information private regardless of what security measures are put in place.
Myself and all of my kids and grandkids use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest, and other social media sites, some I am not even aware of. Their parents do know all their passwords and monitor their usage and sites. They have a way of checking if they have deleted messages so they know just what they and their friends are sending and receiving. Not all parents are as diligent as my daughter in laws, which is sad because this is where the cyber bullying, and sexting has become a huge problem. When I taught computers to K-8th graders, my constant warning to them allowed to use the internet was to never tell anyone your name, address, school you went to and never mention your sports teams you play for. Today I fear that warning has long gone by the wayside.
Facebook does have security settings, and I am always changing my password due to risk of hackers. I do use the block settings to eliminate anyone who I do not know, or do not care to have any access whatsoever to my page, but....is someone wants access all they have to do is create another Facebook account in a different name you are unaware of. You are able to set your Timeline page to privacy settings that do keep people from seeing anything other than your general public information, which I like.
It's the way of the world, and whether we like it or not, use it or not......it's here to stay! Sorry so long of a post, just wanted to inform everyone of what I'm not sure you may, or may not have already known.
