Your darkest secrets exposed

Stories told of a future with Big Brother watching your every move, monitoring your whereabouts, and who you are with 24 hours a day. That in itself was a frightening thought for many people, and with the increase of CCTV cameras, it looked like it would soon become reality. Amazingly Big Brother has a new accomplice who is making his task easier. This new accomplice is…..

YOU!

Internet access is on the increase for all ages, and along with forums, blogs and social media sites, computer users are placing more information about their lives into the public domain every day. Social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo will know your age, location, friends and family along with secrets that would traditionally be only written in a personal diary.

Look at me!

There will often be photographs from friends tagging you, which may show you in an embarrassing position, or in a drunken state. There may even be pictures which if seen by your partner may cause them hurt, destroying their trust or even your relationship.

Each day participants on these sites will place updates presenting to all their contacts everything they are doing, information on their political and religious views, even what famous television star they are fans of. Your current relationship, and what your peers think about you, is all on display for everyone to see.

What the boss doesn’t know….

More employers are now carrying out background checks on future employees, often using what information they find on the internet as part of their selection process. Is there anything on the internet which could affect you? I recently received an email about an employee who was suffering from a hangover. Rather than go to work he decided to take a day’s sick leave. Foolishly he put all that information onto his Facebook, which another colleague cheerily forwarded to his boss. Luckily his boss saw the funny side. It may have been the end of his job.

Become a secret agent.

Everyone loves to keep in touch with their friends and family, and social media sites are becoming the popular way to do it.

  • Make sure that you maximise privacy settings on your accounts, and if you need to send a message use the private email system provided.
  • Take great care in what you write on public forums, and make sure that it is information you would be happy for everyone to view.
  • Remember that each time you join a group, event, or fan club everyone will know. Could it deter a future employer?
  • Before placing an embarrassing photo of a friend on the internet, think twice! They may have an even more embarrassing one of you.

In the meantime I will be looking out for YOU on the internet!