Has Facebook Affected Privacy?

by Amanda Lay for The spectator January 16, 2011

The use of Facebook has had a significant impact on user privacy. No longer is a user’s life truly private. Depending on the Privacy Settings on a user’s account, it is now possible for strangers to easily have access to various kinds of personal information in another user’s account, such as their Home Address and Phone Number.

In addition, an increasing number of Facebook users have grown more comfortable posting Status Updates. Status updates often detail someone’s daily plans or activities publicly on Facebook. Since the popularity of Facebook has increased, it has become commonplace for people to update their Facebook status to share everything from their location at a particular time to how a job interview they had may have gone.

Futhermore, the use of Facebook as a tool for communication has changed the way that communication takes place. An increased number of Facebook users have stopped calling people to communicate with them. These same users are more likely to opt for sending people a message on Facebook or writing a note on the Wall of their friend on Facebook. While Facebook may be a fast and convenient method of communication, people are at an increased risk of the further erosion of their privacy. Aspects of their lives that once remained private, people now publicly display on Facebook for anyone who has a Facebook account to see. This often includes items such as Baby Pictures, which were once private property of one’s family.

The impact of Facebook on our privacy has not been very positive. As a result of these changes, it is the responsibility of each of us to be more cautious and vigilant about safeguarding our privacy. Ignoring these changes and not taking steps to protect our privacy could have terrible and serious consequences.

Taking a few minutes to perform the necessary steps to protect one’s privacy on Facebook makes the unauthorized access to their Account and other personal information much less likely. As someone who has taken these steps, it is my belief that users are much more secure when using Facebook after they take a few minutes to go into their Facebook account to activate or modify the Privacy settings of their Facebook account. It is very crucial to treat Facebook the same as any other website. One should not post items on Facebook that they would not want to make public or have seen by strangers.