Social Media and Online Privacy

Reflective Portfolio
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Challenge 1: Social Media and Online Privacy
Although social media use continues to connect people worldwide, concerns about users' privacy on various social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have spiked public debate. Data breach incidents have alarmed many users, forcing them to question the security of personal information. A study by the Pew Trust reported that over 80% of social media users wonder how businesses and advertisers access and use their social media posts (Albulayhi & El Khediri, 2022). These increasing privacy concerns have called for stricter regulations. They have also placed various social media companies under intense scrutiny.
Based on the social media audit conducted, one of the possible threats to privacy on social media is data mining. Everyone leaves a data trail behind on the internet (Alalawi & Al-Jenaibi, 2016). Every time a social media user creates a new account, they provide personal information such as name, birthday, personal interests, and geographic location. Once the user willingly agrees to the company’s terms and conditions, the data belongs to the firm. Social media companies can store this data to create an accurate user profile and serve user-targeted adverts (Saravanakumar & Deepa, 2016). Sometimes, these firms share users' information with third-party entities without the user's consent. They may also use the user's photos or other information in their campaigns.
Another is privacy settings loopholes. Changing privacy settings does not guarantee privacy. Most of the time, something a user shares with friends gives allows the friends to share with others. The friends can then view the posted content, which might not be the user’s intention. Some of these friends may lack stringent privacy policies, giving other people access to information needed to stay within a smaller circle. The same applies to closed forums and social groups. Page et al. (2022) determined that insurance companies and employers can easily search and discover comments and user lists in Facebook’s private health groups. Therefore, a user must think twice before posting or commenting about controversial issues. That post or comment could ruin a user's reputation or result in identity theft.
Another privacy issue is location settings. Users must pay attention to location settings when using social media platforms. Some social media sites and applications might track a user’s whereabouts even after restricting location. The user's location may not be valuable data, but it can help create a more accurate user profile when paired with personal information. Real-life stalkers and thieves could also use location data to track their targets.
Another issue is hacking. Hacking is a common security vulnerability in Facebook and other social media companies. Many accounts are prone to malicious activities by malicious people who illegally penetrate a user’s account and use it to cone people. Many social media users have been victims of hacking despite changing their passwords and privacy settings. Hackers use various techniques, such as spreading malware and viruses through the user's account (Belapurkar, 2018). Once they penetrate the user's account, they can impersonate the real account owner to satisfy their needs.
Therefore, the privacy issue is one of the primary challenges social media companies should deal with to guarantee the security of personal data. The good news is that some sites like Facebook have introduced a privacy feature to address some privacy issues. For instance, their privacy settings allow a user to restrict those who can view, share and comment on the post. However, as noted earlier, the problem comes when some friends need to adjust their privacy settings, allowing other unintended users to see the post with the information the author wanted to keep within their friend’s circle.
Challenge 2: Annotated Bibliography
Saravanakumar, K., & Deepa, K. (2016). On privacy and security in social media–a comprehensive study. Procedia Computer Science, 78(1), 114-119.
This article identified many of the shortcomings and hiccups on the technical side of social media privacy. The piece also determined the security measures on social media sites and proposed solutions to the privacy concerns surrounding social media platforms. According to the authors, enforcing well-defined social media policies like a strong password, changing passwords regularly, and awareness of information disclosure would secure social networks from further attacks and vulnerabilities.
Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79–95.
This article has presented various themes relevant to the future of social media. These themes will shape the future of social media from three angles: public policy, consumer, and industry (Appel et al., 2020). According to the article, social media is the primary tool for marketing, and security concerns about social media put businesses at risk. Since social media is the future of marketing, it is imperative to strengthen data protection measures for the sake of the users.
Page, X., Berrios, S., Wilkinson, D., & Wisniewski, P. J. (2022). Social Media and Privacy. In Modern Socio-Technical Perspectives on Privacy, 113-147.
In this piece, Page et al. (2022) noted that social media is widely adopted and has a promising future. According to Page et al. (2022), social media companies must continue re-evaluating the privacy implications of new services due to the rapidly changing landscape of widely available social media platforms. Addressing security concerns will strengthen the global of os social media and its applications in different sectors. In other words, the article clarifies that the future of social media relies on the ability of social media companies and other players to minimize security vulnerabilities.
Belapurkar, R. (2018). Information Privacy Concerns and Surveillance in Social Media. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, 186(1), 1-9.
According to this article, the growing concerns about social media privacy may result in social media surveillance. However, the level of surveillance undermines the right to privacy protected by the constitution. Belapurkar (2018) claimed that the increased availability of personal information in cyberspace and the hosts' use for various purposes without consent compels stakeholders to re-assess the information privacy concept and the necessary regulatory measures to protect personal data. The major concern is the threat of using data inappropriately and users’ failure to control their information online.
Sarikakis, K., & Winter, L. (2017). Social media users’ legal consciousness about priva...