Is Facebook dangerous?

İLAYDA DANIŞMAN

We are now all affected by Facebook, even small kids.

Facebook is a social network that helps people reconnect, find old friends, share pictures and socialize. 

Facebook was created by Marc Zuckerberg and some of his roommates at college in February 2004; it was originally intended for U.S. college and university students. 

Facebook, which now has more than half a billion users, is now an everyday part of life for people the world over. 

But Facebook also has negative aspects, particularly in terms of privacy, because people online can easily access users’ information. In more serious cases, hackers can steal users’ information, including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and credit card details.

Users cannot control their privacy after creating an account on Facebook – even after they choose to close their accounts – because the information remains perpetually stored on the social network’s servers. Needless to say, the government can easily access this information one day.

Applicants for new jobs or new universities need also beware, as prospective employers routinely check through candidates’ Facebook profiles to get a sense of their personality. As such, posting pictures from wild parties is ill-advised.

Other users, meanwhile, can tag users’ photos without their consent, leading to the distribution of pictures that the latter would prefer to keep private.

People posting that they are on vacation also provide an open advertisement for burglars, who could come and rob their house. 

In addition, people with bad intentions can use users’ photos for pornography and other illicit activities.

Ultimately, Facebook has many dangers. 

I think people are really unaware of how much information they are giving out about themselves on social network sites.

If only they knew what total strangers could find out about them on these websites, they would definitely be more careful.

We are now all affected by Facebook, even small kids.

Parents should be more careful and control what their children are doing on these sites and make sure they don’t provide information to strangers. 

Facebook should only be used if users are particularly careful and keep their information private.