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One of the many social networking sites where I enjoy to “hangout” is obviously Facebook. There are many reasons as to why Facebook won my heart….but at the same time; there are several ‘bad windows’ in this virtual site which literally has become a ‘home’ for many. Couple of weeks ago, I came across a beautiful picture of a girl in her bridal attire. She was not my friend, but her friend who was in this picture, was a friend of mine. I got to see the whole marriage album of someone whom I have never met either in my real life or even in my virtual life. This friend of mine who was in this marriage album, was “tagged” in some one else’s album. Like me, millions may have seen her, as well as her other friends who were thus tagged. Now, I understand this was a friendly gesture which was meant to share the albums ……..but this may bring in many unwanted troubles, especially breach in privacy when the personal pictures could be seen by some one whom the person in question, does not want to include in his/her list. But remember, Facebook can’t be blamed because they have already given the option to exclude oneself from being tagged.
The other bad window could be created when some one had sent you request for being a friend. I had couple of requests as such whom I had put in the “waiting list.” One day, I myself sent a request to some one whom I wanted to befriend. That was a waiting period for me ….I was not her friend but I could see her wall posts and her comments to our common friends the moment I had sent my request to her , even though she closed her ‘doors’ to strangers. I had a glimpse on my own ‘requested’ list. Many were common friends of my own FB friends, but I internationally did not want to befriend some of them. I instantly understood how I was being open to stalking. My experiences taught me a lesson……. Take instant action in the virtual world if someone is trying to access you; remember ignorance is no defense in any courts of law especially when you are given the options to be safe.
Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2011), “Save your privacy in the Facebook
”, 12th May,2011, published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/
