Social Media Isn’t Safe And Here’s Why

Today, eight of the world’s ten most-visited sites are social media sites. Suffice to say, they’re popular, with the likes of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok leading the pack.

Unfortunately, using social media isn’t risk-free. In fact, it’s anything but. Going online and posting information about yourself reveals a considerable amount to the rest of the world about who you are, where you’re from, and what you do. Criminals can then use this information for all kinds of nefarious purposes – everything from scamming you to stalking.

Risks for people on social media generally fall into two categories: social and technological. Most people are familiar with the social risks of social media use, such as information overload, bullying, and identity theft. Fewer people, however, understand the ins-and-outs of tech-based risks. Unfortunately, social media is full of them. They include unreliable user-generated content, malicious software, and direct hacks.

There’s also an age difference in how people perceive social media threats. Younger people tend to be much more skeptical of these platforms than older folks. When questioned, it was the undergraduates who admitted that social media posed the most risk. Graduates – that is, older people – didn’t have the same level of appreciation, perhaps because they didn’t grow up with social media usage as a part of their daily lives. It’s important to stay safe especially when mature dating.

As the following infographic shows, social media presents users with a plethora of risks. These risks come from a variety of sources, some of which aren’t always obvious. Read on to find out more.

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*This is a collaboration post