Social Networking Social networking is rapidly progressing in society today and continues to keep the world connected, even with physical division. Due to the increase use and development of social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, users are able to share information and life experiences with a simple click. With the ever increasing dependency, social networking thrives on the latest trends in information technology and affects users not only personally, but professionally as well. Although social networks provide open and inviting doors for users, they are also key contributors to missed opportunities. According to Bowles (2013) social networks are composed of those individuals that are held most dearly. The networks have progressed from the term Web 1.0, better known as the “read only” to Web 2.0 which allows users to both read and write. Social networks are highly favored in society and may be the most thriving networks in existence. Bowles also notes that popular social networks, such as Facebook get over “one billion monthly active users” (Bowles, 2013, 7.3). With those numbers alone, it is clear that social networks are dominant. The author goes on to explain that social networks keep everyone connected, but warns users of the detrimental repercussions of over sharing information and how the information shared is never private and to be “discreet” in the manner that users conduct themselves in the social networking world. …show more content…
How do they ensure the safety of users? Facebook, Twitter, and some blogging sites offer options that assist in protecting other users from viewing personal information. According to Bowles (2014), Facebook has privacy controls on most aspects of the site. Users are able to limit the audiences that view personal content or review tags that are posted from other individuals (7.3, para.7). Although this is in place, as mentioned earlier, privacy is not 100% guaranteed and the information put out on the web is forever out there. In saying this, privacy according to the text is not private. In Social Networks, Personalized Advertising, and Privacy Controls, Tucker (2014) explains how the information gathered from what users like on social networks sway the ads presented, causing users to notice and fear that privacy is being violated (p.546). Companies are able to access simple information from social networks and gear content, which instills fear in users. These authors agree that privacy is largely affected, with regards to social networks and that users are taking precautions to protect themselves, but need to be informed of a potential privacy