World Wide Web Privacy?

Social networks such as MySpace and Facebook started as a way to keep in touch with friends and family and to promote musical ambitions. I believe the intent was innocent. However, I feel that what once was believed to be an avenue of freedom of expression has developed into something that has great ability to completely ruin your life.

I know for a fact that employers Google your name when you apply for a job. They search all of the social networks to check on you. This serves as an extra unintended reference for a job. Even though you can set your profile to private they can still find enough facts to dismiss you, if such exist. For example, on Facebook you can be tagged in photos on other people's profile. That person may not have a private profile so now your photos are exposed. There is no such thing as privacy when it comes to the internet. Kids in high school or college may not be mature or knowledgeable enough to realize this and may end up hurting their reputation in the future.

On the flip side, many companies and organization are taking advantage of the power these social networks possess. They use it as a tool to stay up to date with what people want/need as well as a way to reach out to people.

Clearly, these networks have their pros and cons. The most important thing when it comes to using these social networks is being intelligent enough to recognize what they are.