Oh, Be Careful Little Hands What You Post

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Randal, David, and Victoria Richards. " Facebook can ruin your life. And so can MySpace, Bebo...." Independent 10 FEB 2008: n. pag. Web. 17Apr 2010.

The article presented by David Randal and Victoria Richards is an important piece to consult as one questions whether users can trust social networking sites with their personal information because they give a number of real life examples as to how a users life could be impacted by online posts. They also place special significance on the legal impact it could have on an individual. The writers examine the possibility that rather than simply worrying about embarrassing photos posted of them users should also be concerned with what they themselves say and do as it is possible it could be used against them in a civil trial or cause them to lose their job. The primary danger Randal and Richards present is not insidious hackers who access the personal information of others, thought they do acknowledge their impact hackers have. Instead Randal and Richards assert that the true danger lies in one destroying his own reputation by controversial posts and posting photos that are inappropriate in most contexts. They give the example of a person who has had there their insurance company deny them coverage due to posts the user had made. It is the examples given of everyday people that resonate the most, illustrating how when people, as many do, assume they have complete anonymity from those in their professional realm when using a social networking site. While emphasizing personal responsibility, Randal and Richards also discuss the rationale of those who scan other people’s online profiles. They do not vilify the police, school faculty, or potential employers, presenting there searches as legitimate over site, necessary to weed out undesirable applicants and to uncover illegal behavior or destructive behaviors. Randal and Richards article also discusses a number of the all too often untrue assumptions users hold when they are posting information on social networking site. They conclude by making an appeal to using discretion as many people have found pleasure in reconnecting with friends, while a growing number are finding out that they may have set themselves up for legal trouble.

The importance of Randal and Richard’s article is illustrated in the growing reach of people to gather information on others. They explore the potential hazards that can arise when a person uses a social networking site. They ground the article in the mind of the reader by peppering examples of people who have had to suffer the consequences of posting information online. In the examples given, various groups such as potential employers and even insurance companies will use a person’s online profile as a means to disqualify a person from a job position or medical coverage. Randal and Richards also describe how this process is being adopted by current employers to keep tabs on their workers. In one example given a man was fired from his job because he had posted a picture of himself from a party he was at on a day he had called in sick. Though extreme, the examples Randal and Richards use serve as a caution to the readers that a users postings whether they display immature behavior or are seemingly innocuous, those postings may come back to haunt the user. The writers also discuss how the fear of one’s digital life coming back to haunt them has caused a number of online business’ that specialize in internet expunging have become popular. These services go through the sites chain of command from the individual all the way to the ISP controller. The majority of Randal and Richards article hinges on the fact that people, whether through naivety or apathy, assume that they have a high level of anonymity when they are posting information to a social networking site. But Randal and Richards sought to demonstrate to their readers that nothing posted online is in a vacuum. Randal and Richards article is important because it brings some of the assumptions around privacy on a social networking site to light and give reasons as to why those assumptions may be dangerous to one’s reputation. It is also important because it directs the question of whether social networking site can be trusted with their user’s information in unexpected directions namely authorities in a user’s life.