There are downsides to using social media!!!! Be Careful.
I have come across people – especially amongst us older folk – that have no desire to get involved with Social Media yet. You see, I live in a neighborhood that allows only those of us who are 55 and older. So besides keeping in touch with friends and family – especially grandchildren – they would most likely have no reason to get on the majority of Social Media sites. Facebook is often the exception because many of us have old friends, children and grandchildren on the site, and it is a great way to keep up.
My older sister (who is definitely not a Baby Boomer) can’t understand why anyone would want anything to do with it. It took her years to even get an email account – she had a computer sit in a box for about three years before she even set it up. Then she found out what fun it was – that’s when my email inbox really started filling up. She loves to share jokes that she comes across – rarely though do I get any other type of email from her. Usually when there are family matters she wants to discuss, I get a phone call instead.
What does this have to do with downsides of using social media?
Yes like anything else, there are downsides to the internet age. Some people are definitely giving out way too much information on their profiles – especially younger people. They are often still too naive to know better. They still trust the world and believe that "nothing bad only happens to other people". Somehow, we older folk have to make certain that we teach the younger people – especially the teens - that not everyone out there is nice and to be trusted – that there are some very evil people in the world. My husband, a former police officer, has relayed some stories that make my blood run cold. We have got to make our kids cognizant of that issue.
Privacy and security issues have to be faced
The internet is here to stay – we are now in the "information era". Security and privacy issues have got to be addressed. People have to be very careful about the information they share and who they share it with. It is absolutely amazing what can be found out about many of us online – especially such things as full names, addresses, phone numbers, name of school being attended, etc. Those things are just what predators are looking for.
Recently, my son (who is a very private person) emailed me two absolutely beautiful pictures of my oldest granddaughter. She had just placed in a contest, and the pictures showed her with her crown on and a huge smile on her face. Of course, being the proud grandmother that I am, I immediately wanted to show them off to my friends on Facebook. Luckily, just before I posted one of the pictures, I noticed that it had her first name (which has a different spelling than usual),her school and her home town listed on it. Needless to say, that picture will NEVER make it to any of my Social Media sites.
In this technology world, things have changed and will continue to do so. We are going to have to live with that. The best thing we can do is stay aware of the pros and cons of those changes and make certain we do the right things for both ourselves and our families.
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