The continued evolution of technology has elicited several opportunities for innovation and renovation. The technological development has led to the manufacturing of smart gadgets, which can access the internet. In a bid to elevate socialization, some social sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and WhatsApp among others have developed user-friendly apps that enable customers to sign up and enjoy the services. Many people, primarily the young people, have anticipated socializing through social media. The quest to socialize has also face severe challenges to the customers as some unapproved societal issues have clogged the sites, hence raising privacy concerns. Spammers have also taken the opportunity of the users’ ignorance to commit cyber bullying crimes. Nevertheless, the socializing through the networking sites has continued to face severe challenges as some customers are illiterate, but anticipate enjoying the services of the smart gadgets.
In Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, one can communicate either on their individual profile walls or by sending messages privately via inbox. The functionality use depends upon the person one needs to communicate with, or the nature of conversation being shared. The message sharing preferred options can be for everybody to see, including net or web searches, or for their friends on the sites. An individual can also allow only a small group of their social networking sites’ friends to view their posts, hence blocking out the rest (Weiss 30). The platform can get even narrower, by only sharing it with an individual through the inbox arena. However, the privacy of its message component they term ‘unprecedented’ when it comes to the prevention and control of third party interference.
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In a quest for learning the communication of its users, some social sites contradict their privacy policy by intercepting their private messages. Around 2012, research done by an independent security firm indicated that Facebook, instead of only facilitating message transmission, it used the messages for function totally unrelated. In cases where a user includes a ‘URL’ link on the messages they post, Facebook follows the link with the intention of finding out the activities of the shared website. The aim of the activity is to make the user’s message transmission easier, but rather to get the data of users and share with third parties for advertising, marketing purposes (Weiss 30). By so doing, Facebook tends to benefit. In Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn create a sense of trust that their information is safe by using ‘private message’. Because of this, the users can keep sending private messages through these channels, which the sites benefit. Otherwise, if people sensed their communication underwent close monitoring, they would stop, and the networking websites would lose.
Some societal contrasted activities have elicited the privacy of social network users. The cultural theory disregards the intrusion of privacy of the societal members. The postulation castigates disrespect, direct, and indirect theft. In media, the communal norms are violated through unacceptable conducts. Further, the values of assimilation and communal participation in alleviating crime face severe challenges in protecting the privacy of social site user (Abrahams 90). For instance, the vice of cyber bullying has perpetrated through social media such as internet malls, cellular phones, and other electronic devices.
The pioneers and followers of the archaic trend aim to humiliate, control, manipulate, intimidate, embarrass, torment, threaten or harass the target by sending text messages or images. The practice as advanced with the passage of time and advancement in communication technology has fueled it further. Further, cyber bullying can be practiced by children and adults who have access to communication media. This vice is termed as cyber stalking or cyber harassment if it is practiced by an adult towards an adult (Abrahams 90). Cyber stalking tactics seek to humiliate the victims through online crimes by publishing embarrassing information in social media that is aimed at attacking the victim’s reputation, occupation, safety or threat of life.
In the recent years, the practice has attracted even children and teenagers although their participation is limited to their imagination and access to the internet. On the other hand, adults have been the most active users of this new form of settling scores or perpetrating malice. In several countries around the world, the problem has had mild or serious effects on the victims. For instance, empirical research and anecdotal evidence has shown that the practice has varied effects on the victims ranging from low self-esteem, attempted suicides, depression, fear or anger leading to retaliation (Colace et al. 87). As time passes the tactics employed in this trade also change to make it more effective in harming the victims. Therefore, cyber bullying is a new form of abuse of social networking sites that affects everybody since even strangers direct it to others.
In conclusion, contravention of privacy in social networks is a vice that keeps on growing with each new day. Authorities should draft measures that aim at reducing the practice to save the innocent victims from undergoing the trauma that comes with disregard to privacy. The consequences are profound and it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that they refrain from the archaic behavior. Parents should make sure that their children do not practice or fall as victims of cyber bullying and contravention of privacy in social networking sites. Schools should check on reported cases among their students and deal with them accordingly. People ought to learn to keep their information in secret and take precautions in those areas which pose serious hot spots of assimilation. The society should learn the preventive measures that can help curb the menace of privacy contravention.
- Abraham, Ajith. Computational Social Networks: Security and Privacy. London: Springer, 2012.
- Colace, Francesco, Massimo D. Santo, Vincenzo Moscato, Antonio Picariello, F A. Schreiber, and L Tanca. Data Management in Pervasive Systems. , 2015.
- Weiss, Joseph W. Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. San Francisco, US: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2014.
