Blog Post 7

It doesn't surprise me that Kate Raynes-Goldie found that 20-somethings are more concerned with social privacy than institutional privacy on Facebook and other social media sites.  As young adults, we are constantly under scrutiny by our peers in regards to our relationship status, the pictures we post, the events we attend and those we are connected with.  As more and more adults enter the world of Facebook, it is no longer just our peers that are watching our every digital move.  Teachers, administration, parents, parents of friends; anyone who is free to judge our young lives can now access the documentation we willingly and conveniently provide online.  As users of Facebook, we rarely see how our institutional privacy is being tested because most of the information that is used, shows up as ads that we merely glance over and brush off.

One way to combat the fear of giving our "friends" too much information is the switch to Twitter. Twitter provides an outlet where the user can still express their immediate thoughts without the option of your "friends" sharing more than you would like about yourself.  Twitter can still tag people in posts and although not directly, pictures.  The interface of Twitter also allows for rapid movement of posts and does not naturally show a single person's timeline of posts unless a user clicks on their individual profile.  Twitter gives the user a lot more control on what information is connected to them however this sometimes gives a false sense of security.

Large corporations are now using Twitter to issue press releases, updates and company events.  Young Twitter users are less cautious when it comes to what they post on Twitter compared to what they post of Facebook.  More can be said in 140 characters than most users realize however privacy settings are a lot more user friendly with Twitter.  A Twitter account can be entirely blocked to the public and even if that account is tagged in tweet by some one else, it is still private to those who are not connected to the account.  As Raynes-Goldie points out, Facebook can give a stranger a lot more access to your information, pictures and posts than you would probably like.

The early years of social media, it was normal and encouraged to reveal as much information as possible about yourself in order for your friends to find you easier in the cyber world.  As time progressed, stalking, child molestation and general stranger danger took effect.  Personal information is gaining more value every day that identity theft occurs.  Users of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more are selective of the information they post.  Sires are now losing users because they no longer want other people to access their information or conversely, they no longer want access to the information of others.  Social media is going downhill as more and more adults start using; it is losing its “cool” and soon it will no longer exist as a normal part of American social life.