National Data Privacy Day--teen social networking

The U.S., Canada and European Union celebrate Data Privacy Day today to recognize the dignity of the individual through personal information. Today, individuals are identified through information, most often in digital form. A great deal of information that children, teens and adults post online is highly sensitive or otherwise inappropriate for sharing on social networking sites and other Web 2.0 applications without risk to one's identity and reputation.

(credit: iStockPhoto)

In addition to the common personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers and financial account numbers, which never should be shared, other identifying information including addresses, birth dates, text messages, photographs and videos should be shared cautiously through social networking sites, cell phones, PDAs and gaming sites. It best not to share your address or birth date. Sharing most any personal information can carry significant risks including identity theft, harassment, profiling and discrimination, scandals, sex crimes, character assassination as well as the defamation of one's own character. In addition to putting yourself at risk, sharing personal information or inappropriate information indiscriminately can place your family, friends or employer at risk.

Sharing a seemingly innocuous photograph can result in potentially scandalous online records for anyone to see. One social networker posted a personal photo album on Facebook including a picture of a sports car, owned over 30 years ago. The picture brought an old lost friend down memory lane that recognized the car. The memories of the car elicited comments that potentially impugned the character of the two old college buddies, both of which are highly respected in their communities today. The networker was able to delete the impulsive comments. Unfortunately, most comments and information cannot be deleted once they are posted.

A recent Cox survey on cyber-safety reports that almost 75% of teenagers have profiles on social networking sites; almost 75% have cell phones; almost 60% have digital cameras; and over 90% have an email address. Most teens surveyed were aware and concerned about the risks of information sharing and almost 60% said posting personal information and photos is unsafe. Yet, over 60% uploaded photos (see short video) of themselves, many of which showed the name of their school or city in which they live. A third of the teens said they have been cyberbullied (see short video), and almost 70% characterized cyberbullying as "a serious problem." Nearly 20% of the teens surveyed engaged in sexting—sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photos through a text message or email. Most alarming was that over 11% admitted that they sent "sexts" to people they did not know (see short video).

Parents, their children and teenagers should understand the personal risks and those to their families and friends when personal information is posted online and shared with the world.

Privacy is your right to decide who has access to your personal information and how you expect that information is used. Think carefully about the information you share or post online.

Five guidelines that teens should practice and adults should consider before posting are:

It is there for the whole world to see: If you would not put it in a resume or college application, or you wouldn't put it on a poster and hang it on your locker or your dorm room door, don’t post it. If wouldn’t share it with your parents, teachers or boss, don’t post it. If you wouldn’t print it on the front page of the local newspaper, don’t post it!
It is there forever: Once you post information, comments or photographs on the Web, they can be viewed, forwarded and saved by millions of people and stored on thousands of computers, making it impossible to remove (see short video) them.
What you post can hurt you: Web site operators, advertisers, colleges, potential employers (see short video) , friends and parents may access and use the information you share online. Even sexual predators and pedophiles (see short video) may gain access to online information. Be cautious about the personal details you disclose, and don’t make friends with people that you do not know in the real world.
Protect your personal and family information: Be sparing with the personally identifiable information you share online. Generally, don’t share your last name, your phone numbers, home address, date of birth, school or team name, travel plans, Social Security number, passwords, family financial information or bank account information or credit card numbers. Don’t put your family and friends at risk by posting their personal information or photos. Ask yourself, would they want this comment, information, story or photo posted?
Make it a habit to read privacy notices: Web sites that collect your information should have a privacy notice that explains your privacy rights. If they don't have one that should be a warning sign not to provide information on that Web site. Read the privacy notice. What choices do they offer you; who do they share your information with; can you opt out of sharing; how can you correct or delete your information; and do they protect your information and how?

These tips aren't just for children and teenagers! If you are an adult (see short video), learn and follow these guidelines too, and teach your children.

If you are an employer, train your employees on these guidelines. People have lost their jobs and have been arrested because of inappropriate information they posted on the Web. Companies have lost key accounts and have experienced bad publicity because of information that employees posted on social networking sites.

Think twice before you post that story, comment, information or photograph. As part of the National Data Privacy Day movement, search on your name in a couple of the popular search engines and see what information you can find on you.

You are your own best protector online – make smart choices, think twice before you post.