Social networking has definitely revolutionized the world the way it has enabled billions of people worldwide to stay in touch with their loved ones, share photographs and experiences, and exchange personal content. Using social networking sites, Facebook in particular, carries a higher degree of risk because there is a massive base of users who are completely unknown to you.
On a network with over a billion registered accounts, careless and irresponsible social media conduct can easily ruin your education, affect your career, and even cost you the life. It is important to understand that there are things you should never share on Facebook to stay safe.
Here are some social media updates mistakes that can put you in serious trouble.
1. Check in Disaster – Location Disclosed!
Many people do not know that they end up revealing their current location every time they update their status on Facebook. It may prove dangerous because thieves would know your location and could target you with ease. It’s a big concern for especially those who stay alone.
This may also tell others that you are not at your home, which may be quite tempting for potential thieves. All you have to do is dismiss the location when you make a Facebook update from your mobile or edit the location in the post to avoid giving the bad guys the green light to enter your house. (it may be too late or even a pain to it though)
Unless you’re intentionally promoting a place or an event, showing off location can trouble you.
2. Never Talk Bad about Your Boss
No money can get as bad as no life. And you would surely not like to risk your job with a Facebook status when you’re working with someone, do you?
Even if you hate your boss (comes natural), Facebook is not the right place to talk about them. Keep in mind that your co-workers and boss also have Facebook and they can see what you are talking about them. You also need to be careful with images you share because they can again leave you jobless.
Be sure to save your rants for your close friends only and share images after thinking twice.
Ranting about your ex-boss isn’t going to be pleasing either. Your current employer gets an idea of what and who you are the way you behave on social networks. The life is beyond real life now.
3. Home Address and Phone Number
I see people sharing their phone numbers in public comments in response to certain questions or posts. Understand that there is no way to tell who have been following you on Facebook. Never talk about places where you live. You should not share your home address under any circumstances. Similarly, you should never share your phone number on Facebook. Anyone can use a reverse phone number lookup to find your location. If you make this mistake, you are asking for trouble.
Prefer sending a private message to your close contacts or only known people on Facebook.
4. Relationship Status
Especially for female users, avoid revealing your relationship status. Making this mistake gives stalkers a chance to pounce on you. Instead of saying you are single, you could just say, “It’s Complicated”. Married are mostly safe from such stalkers (Kidding)
5. Pictures of Your Children with Their Names
Updating your status with pictures of your children or your friends’ children tagged with their names is never a good idea. Unfortunately, there is no way to ensure that only your friends are seeing those images. Even if you understand how to change your privacy settings, those pictures may land in all the wrong places. Sharing the school and college details can make the things even easier for the sick minded people.
How is that possible?
Imagine what happens if your friend loses their phone? Someone may have logged into Facebook and forgot to log out. What will happen then?
“Friends Only” setting isn’t going to be a foolproof way of protecting your privacy, especially when you know you are living in a world where pedophiles are smarter than ever. Never share their images under “public” setting and ensure that you do not give any additional information, such as the name of their school, etc.
These could be just situation but it’s always better to be safe.
6. Vacation Plans – Deserve to be Personal
It’s okay to share your vacation happiness and even the place. Now, how bad is it to let someone know of the exact dates when you are out of town? Sharing your vacation plans on Facebook can pose serious threat to the safety of your family, especially when they are alone at home. The best thing is to share your photos once you are safely home.
Keep in mind that it is easy for criminals to search for “vacation” posts within your zip code and attack your property when you are away.
7. Embarrassing Things – Certainly to put you in Trouble
Before making a status update of a funny looking experience, ask yourself if you really want your family or boss to see this. Don’t post anything that makes you feel embarrassed. If you think no one has seen your status update because you deleted it in a few minutes, you are wrong. It may be long enough for someone to take a snapshot of it.
You might have noticed several bold posts from Facebook users in recent past. Unless you’re ready to confront and defend, avoid the unnecessary trouble. It gives you nothing but regret.
8. Medical History
Sounds something that can be taken lightly?
Sharing medical information regarding specific diseases, conditions, and even allergies is a big no-no. You may have heard stores of kids being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and then saved through Facebook, but do not try to push it further. Keep in mind that thieves can use medical records to plan things.
Moreover, you’re getting more vulnerable exposing your weak areas.
Lastly, participating in extreme political and religious discussion and making bold status updates can trigger several heads. Be careful and mindful when you express yourself.
Not everyone around Facebook is your friend. There are strangers and bad guys who always look for ways hurt you. Always pay attention to your privacy settings and keep things tight to ensure that only your immediate friends can see your Facebook statuses.
Also, think twice before posting anything personal because even privacy settings can sometimes fail. Do read this post to spot the fake facebook profiles and be safe.
Social media is a brilliant tool that can make life easy, fast and rich. But the same thing can be misused no matter how great it is. Use it with caution.
Can you relate to any of the above updates? Share your experience. If this post was useful, please share it with your friends and help make social media safe for everybody. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask.
Sunita Biddu is a digital business coach and power blogging mentor helping coaches and small business owners. She helps with building a strong and profitable online presence and reputation that creates a self-sustaining business. Sunita writes on this blog once a week about easy-to-use guides and articles about business, coaching, social media and blogging. You can grab some of her free resources and ebooks from the resources section.