Social site warning for teenagers

[depakid]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

TEENAGERS should think twice before posting personal information and photos on the internet, as they might come back to haunt them, privacy experts warn. Young people risked losing jobs or being embarrassed by teachers and relatives viewing party pictures or sexually explicit images uploaded on social networking websites, Victoria's Privacy Commissioner Helen Versey said.

Ms Versey and privacy commissioners from the Asia-Pacific region and Canada will today launch "http://www.privacy.vic.gov.au/dir100/priweb.nsf/content/AAFC731C1B055D91CA2575A80009DC4A?OpenDocument">Think before you upload", an animated, online video warning young people of the dangers of documenting their life on the internet. "Young people and others send information to social networking sites, but don't think where that information might end up," Ms Versey said. "When you put information online, do you really want some people, like employers, future employers or even relatives, to see it?"

<snip>

Employers frequently search for a prospective employee's name through Google and Facebook, rejecting those with seemingly inappropriate cyber profiles, which might not be a true reflection of the person's skills and personality. Ms Treyvaud said: "People used to say, 'You are what you eat.' Now, it is: 'You are what you upload.' "

In the US, there have been several cases of high school students rejected from entry to college based on their profiles in cyberspace. One US teenager committed suicide after her boyfriend circulated on the internet an explicit picture she had sent him. "We are not saying to kids, don't go online," Ms Treyvaud said. "Do it, but be very mindful about what you share, that it's there forever, because nothing is ever deleted from the internet. The minute you hit 'send', you have lost control of your piece of data."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/web/social-site-warning-for-teenagers/2009/05/05/1241289177088.html

---

Not too bad a video for a public information campaign.

[virgogal]

1. I tried discussing this type of thing with my14 year old granddaughter

and she looked at me(courteously,of course) as if I was a dinosaur.

[habitual]

2. i have a different take on this:

egoistic as it is, if an employer were to look at my facebook profile and pics and such, i think they'd be more inclined to hire me.

that's just me, you wanna know me, go ahead, i am proud of who i am.

Edit to add: Granted, i am not a teenager.