For many us of in college, Facebook has become a must have, and for many, even an addiction. We all enjoy posting pictures of our friends having fun weekends, and moreover enjoy looking at other’s uploaded pictures and statuses. However, as the digital world becomes more prominent in today’s society, it has become increasingly more important to monitor your Facebook. Companies have begun using Facebook to weed out potential employees by finding inappropriate media on their sites. It is imperative to remember that what you put on the Internet will be there forever, even if you delete it afterwards or untag the photo. Thus, it becomes incredibly crucial in the years of college to keep your Facebook clean and safe.
Here are some simple steps for having a safe Facebook:
- Privacy: Every time that Facebook updates its software, it changes the privacy settings as well. Therefore, whenever you notice an update it is important to check your Facebook and make sure that the privacy settings are exactly as you set them before. It is also a good measure to regularly check privacy settings, just in case you decide to change something. Also make sure that your settings are set so that someone who is not your friend cannot see any information. You can check this by going to privacy settings, clicking on “Apps and Websites” and then “Public Search”. It will show you what your logged out profile looks like to someone who is not your friend.
- Contact Info: Never put your phone number or any form of address on Facebook.
- Statuses: Although everyone enjoys going out and posting about exciting times, it can be incredibly dangerous. Some stalkers on Facebook, monitor statuses to see when someone will be out of town to rob their house or when they will be alone. For example, do not have a statuses that reads, “Beach with all the roommates” or “I am so bored home alone”. It is also important to not post anything that you may do that is illegal, even if you think it is funny or if it seems like the social norm in college.
- Pictures: Be aware of what you and more importantly your friends post on Facebook. Even if your friend puts up a picture of you and you detag it, facial recognition software can attach a face with a name and it could be there to haunt you for the rest of your life.
- Friend Request: Do NOT accept a friend request, unless you personally know the person and know that the friend request is explicitly that person. Do NOT accept a friend request, just because you have mutual friends either. Scammers create faux Facebook pages all the time to hack information from unsuspecting individuals, and the amount of information that they can obtain is terrifying to say the least.
We are all smart and savvy college students, so let’s make sure our Facebook pages reflect that!