Online Privacy and Disclosure
The issue of disclosing private information on social media is one of the most critical in the present-day world of technological innovation. It requires careful management allowing to avoid the negative outcome of online sharing (Barrett-Maitland & Lynch, 2020). In this situation, I established a set of rules that helped me ensure the safety of my data. They primarily relate to the type of content I post online. Thus, for example, every time I want to share a photo with my friends, I ask myself what it would look like in the eyes of other people. In this case, if I see any danger to my image, I prefer sending the materials in private messages rather than posting them.
Another method to fix the privacy problem that I use is the removal of personal information such as my phone number, birthdays, or names of relatives. It seems reasonable since my friends already know these details, and strangers are not supposed to have access to them. I also strictly limit the number of people who can see my posts on Facebook as this information is no less personal to me.
Admissions or Hiring
The popularity of social media among people of different ages implies the emergence of specific ethical issues. They are mostly related to the use of information by school officials or potential employers to make judgments on a person. From my point of view, it is highly unacceptable since these practices violate the guiding principles establishing moral values in society (Barrett-Maitland & Lynch, 2020). In such matters as employment or study, people should refer to the reliable information they receive first-hand rather than profiles in social networks. Otherwise, it would be impossible to make an ethical decision.
The problem of the use of private information posted on social media is complemented by the fact that these data do not guarantee the required degree of authenticity. Since people using online platforms for communication tend to show their lives in the best possible light, their representation is biased by definition. As a result, the evaluation of people based on information they post online is a questionable method as it cannot be objective. In this way, the violation of moral values and ethics as a whole comes in both the fact of using online data and their deliberate falseness leading to the reception of distorted information.
Parental Implications
I am not a friend of my parents or relatives on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, and this fact guarantees the privacy of information I post. If there is something they should know about my life, they will know about it anyway. Otherwise, this type of online friendship will pressure my activity and make me feel their presence in all the aspects of my life, whereas I strive for being independent.
I am not alone in this opinion since researchers proved that online communication of parents and their children has negative consequences. Most kids do not like being friends with their relatives on Facebook and get off the website because they perceive it as pressure (“Should parents be friends,” 2018). Once they connect on the platform, they create another account that can be used for free expression. The challenge comes when parents start believing that their children share everything with them. As a result, they start neglecting problems kids might face due to this erroneous belief.
References
Barrett-Maitland, N., & Lynch, J. (2020). Social Media, Ethics and the Privacy Paradox. In Ethics, Laws, and Policies for Privacy, Security, and Liability. IntechOpen. Web.
Should parents be friends with their kids on social media? (2018). Growing Leaders. Web.