To date, there are 1.3 BILLION people on Facebook, over 280 million on LinkedIn, 241 million on Twitter and well over one million videos are viewed on YouTube each day …. all of this has occurred within the last 10 years. Amazing! Our world and how we connect with others is changing so much and so quickly that’s it difficult to keep pace.
In this change, one thing is becoming more and more apparent – we don’t have the privacy we used to. In some ways this is good because it allows us to keep up with the latest in news, politics, entertainment and life much faster; it also allows us to connect in real time with people around the world – most we would not know otherwise.
However, there’s a downside that can appear for many that some people ignore. Anything you say, type or do on-line can be shared with others and used against you, especially in business and education. There’s nothing wrong with expressing your opinions on a matter or displaying photos or video of yourself on-line, as long as you understand and can live with the consequences of your choices – good and bad. I encourage you to ask yourself two questions before posting anything or giving consent to post anything on-line:
- How would I feel if my parents, grandparents, employer, pastor/priest/rabbi/imam/other, spouse or children saw this?
- Could this post harm my reputation, relationships or ability to gain employment, seek higher education or obtain a needed loan?
If either response leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, I encourage you to go back and edit the information before hitting “Send.” You’ll be glad you did!
Until next time….