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Ethics & Privacy


This week I explored privacy related issues on Facebook. After exploring the default privacy settings on my own Facebook account, I learned that Facebook was showing other users when I was active on my account, Facebook recognition was set to “on” which allowed Facebook to recognize if I was in a photo. I can be tagged in photos or videos without approval and more. These happened to be the default settings on Facebook upon creating an account. What surprised me the most was that Facebook tracks people’s personal traits and interests and list them for advertisers on its website. Not only are they advertising their user’s information, they are also making a profit off of users. This tells me that no one’s privacy or information matters when a profit is involved.

In addition, I learned that the ads that Facebook users see are based on information they’ve provided on their profiles such as, relationship status, employer, job title, and even education. The thing is these settings only affect how Facebook determines whether to show certain ads to you, they don’t change the information that is visible on your profile and who can see it. Because our data is easily attainable, it makes it extremely easy for predators to use it for malicious purposes. Knowing that Facebook isn’t secure, shares user’s information, and has had several scandals, will Facebook users decline? According to Statista, Facebook gained 2.5 billion monthly active users as of the fourth quarter of 2019 and is still the biggest social network worldwide, so it’s probably unlikely that Facebook will lose its users.

However, I am very leery about my continuous use of any social media platform because of its exposure. Of course, we are all capable of controlling what data is shared to a certain extent, but many users don’t know how or aren’t even aware how much information is being shared about them. I was only aware of half the things I learned after reading articles, research, and exploring my Facebook settings. I have now changed all of my settings on Facebook after becoming aware of how my information is used and how susceptible I am to predators. I still don’t feel I can completely trust that the company will respect my privacy. My major concern is can Facebook really be trusted to protect its user’s information. I think Facebook needs to be transparent about how its user’s information is collected and shared upon activating an account.

Another topic I explored was about Facebook quizzes. I read that our identities can be stolen just by taking personality quizzes on Facebook. I can admit that I have engaged in hundreds of these quizzes just for the fun of it. Unknowingly, I could have been giving out answers to security questions that I used to create some of my most important accounts such as, credit and bank accounts. I have been in a few situations where my credit card information was stolen, and someone used my account in another state. Could it have been that I gave my information out just by participating in an activity I thought was harmless. It makes me wonder how protected am I as a Facebook user? Now I’m paranoid and I need to be more knowledgeable about what activities I participate in on social media or limit my activity completely! It is very important that we all gain as much knowledge as possible about all social media platforms to avoids the dangers of it.





Clement, J. (2020, January 30). Facebook users worldwide 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

Fowler, G. (2018, June 1). Review | Hands off my data! 15 default privacy settings you should change right now. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/01/hands-off-my-data-15-default-privacy-settings-you-should-change-right-now/?noredirect=on

Murray, L. (2018, December 26). Police Are Warning Everyone to Stop Taking Those Facebook Quizzes ASAP. Retrieved February 2, 2020, from https://www.prevention.com/life/a25684246/facebook-quiz-identity-risk/?fbclid=IwAR1tmkdHTbUIiMk2pL4HAeHo091jlunocQTH7qmkiGvTCdSD-JZF5IyPCdk







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Comments

  1. NMZumpanoFebruary 3, 2020 at 7:12 PM

    It was great to read that after you learned of some concerning things you took action and modified your Facebook settings. Do you think that adults have any responsibility to educate kids about privacy and these topics?

    ReplyDelete

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