Nowadays, almost everyone is on one social networking site or another. Some people believe that there are downsides to posting personal data on social networking platforms. In my opinion, this is true to a great extent and I generally believe that the drawbacks of using social media eclipse the benefits.
Social media websites and applications allow people to connect with friends and family. They enable people to trace long lost friends and stay in touch with relatives. This is a boon for individuals living away from their near and dear ones. Social media also enables like-minded people to form virtual communities where they can share their interests and opinions, and work together for their favourite causes. Similarly, for business savvy people, it is an ideal place to find new customers and promote their products.
On the downside, social media has plenty of negative aspects. Over the years, it has become a platform to show off. Many people are only using it to brag about their achievements and possessions. They frequently post on Facebook or Instagram photos and stories of their expensive acquisitions and exotic vacations. This can make their less privileged friends and acquaintances feel inferior. Another downside is that people are indiscriminately posting their personal information online oblivious to the fact that it can be stolen and/or misused. For instance, when traveling people use geo-tagging apps to advertise their current location, they increase the risk of their home being burgled. Personal photos posted online can also be misused and the consequences can be disastrous. Worse than that, sometimes the owners of such platforms sell user data for profit, which may as well be used by phishers and scammers.
In short, social media can be a great platform to connect with people only when it is used for its intended purpose, but in reality, these days, it is for many people merely a means to show off, and for others it is a goldmine of personal data to exploit, which explains why I am convinced that its downsides outweigh the upsides.
Nowadays, almost everyone is on one
social
networking site or another.
Some
people
believe that there are
downsides
to posting
personal
data on
social
networking
platforms
. In my opinion, this is true to a great extent and I
generally
believe that the drawbacks of using
social
media
eclipse the benefits.
Social
media
websites and applications
allow
people
to connect with friends and family. They enable
people
to trace
long lost
friends and stay in touch with relatives. This is a boon for individuals living away from their near and dear ones.
Social
media
also
enables like-minded
people
to form virtual communities where they can share their interests and opinions, and work together for their
favourite
causes.
Similarly
, for business savvy
people
, it is an ideal place to find new customers and promote their products.
On the
downside
,
social
media
has
plenty
of
negative
aspects. Over the years, it has become a
platform
to
show
off.
Many
people
are
only
using it to brag about their achievements and possessions. They
frequently
post on Facebook or Instagram photos and stories of their expensive acquisitions and exotic vacations. This can
make
their less privileged friends and acquaintances feel inferior. Another
downside
is that
people
are
indiscriminately
posting their
personal
information online oblivious to the fact that it can
be stolen
and/or misused.
For instance
, when traveling
people
use
geo-tagging
apps to advertise their
current
location, they increase the
risk
of their home
being burgled
.
Personal
photos posted online can
also
be misused
and the consequences can be disastrous. Worse than that,
sometimes
the owners of such
platforms
sell user data for profit, which may
as well
be
used
by phishers and scammers.
In short,
social
media
can be a great
platform
to connect with
people
only
when it is
used
for its intended purpose,
but
in reality, these days, it is for
many
people
merely
a means to
show
off, and for others it is a goldmine of
personal
data to exploit, which
explains
why I
am convinced
that its
downsides
outweigh the upsides.