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Facebook Trust & Personal Secrets

Updated: Thursday, October 18 2012, 05:42 PM CDT
As social media becomes more intertwined with our daily lives, people are sharing more information about who they are and what they are doing.  Facebook’s privacy settings are supposed to allow each user to share their information with the people or groups they choose.  This allows children the opportunity to hide information from parents, or employees to hide activity from employers.  But recently 2 students at the University of Texas found out about a loophole in the system the hard way.

The two students were part of UT’s Queer Chorus and when the president of the chorus added the 2 students to the choir’s Facebook Group, it accidentally revealed their sexuality to hundreds of their Facebook friends including their parents.  Since individuals do not have to approve groups they are added to, all of the measures they had taken to protect their privacy had been circumvented.

Both students have faced a tough battle with their parents…one has even cut all communication with her father.  Facebook has taken additional steps to inform its users about these particular privacy matters, but in a day and age where we share so much information about ourselves online, its is a strong reminder for all that privacy and social media may not necessarily go hand in hand.

By Hunter Ellis

Link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/when-the-most-personal-se_n_1965001.html
Facebook Trust & Personal Secrets