Privacy on Facebook

The sense of privacy in our generation is changing drastically. Online, the issue of privacy is seen as what others are seeing on a user's page or what others may be posting on their page. This is different in the past, in that, before people were more concerned with how their information could be used and abused by the government and banks, etc. (Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook) Facebookers are able to find others through "tags" on photos and through posts on one's newsfeed. This is creating a sense of transparency that can be exciting and interesting but not always beneficial. Users onlineoften admit to abusing the privacy policies, going through loopholes found in the tagging of photos to get to user's they may not be friends with and also using false names to be able to look through other people's information. Even so, users still supply large amounts of information. With users admitting to abusing information, it is suprising that they feel exempt to the "creeping" and are not voicing the need for more privacy. In a world where you name, birthday, phone number, email, relationship status, place of residence, hometown, occupation, schooling, posts, photos, interests are all up publicly, companies, fraud, and even stalkers could easily get ahold of this information. Although, with Facebook being more and more a crucial way of communication it is less about not getting on Facebook or having one and more about how we can control the release of information. Being aware of the concerns can help the community and further encourage Facebook creators to change and modify privacy and how it is presented on the site.