By Christopher McFadden
In modern times, the Internet has become more accessible for people. With just one click, you're able to access the web through your devices. Through the development of the Internet, social media is one of the most-favoured applications. Although it has its advantages, it is clear to identify its downsides as well.
Youths are still learning day by day on how to mature themselves and learn about themselves. They can be susceptible to the dangers posed online. With prevalent issues like cyberbullying, there are possibilities of becoming the victim of it. Or even being influenced by the negative pressures of social media. According to Stay Safe Online, it is vital for everyone to know the ways of dealing with these dangers and safely use social media.
With this in mind, we are here to discuss practical ways to protect yourself when venturing online. Firstly, when creating an account, a complex password should be designed to secure it. They don't have those password strength indicators for nothing! By crafting an elaborate password, it would slim the risks of being hacked. Also, as many of us have multiple social media accounts, having different passwords for different accounts would be very helpful. This method would prevent hackers from accessing all your accounts with just one password. If you want to keep it low-key, there is always the option to set your accounts on private, should you wish.
Aside from that, users should be cautious when they share information on social media. This is a given, your home addresses, financial information and even phone numbers should not be broadcasted online. This precaution is to prevent hackers from taking advantage and stealing your identity.
It is advisable to familiarise yourself with privacy policies on the respective online platform. The reason being, privacy settings are in place so that users are aware of how to manage and control their online experience safely. You can make fair use of this by customising the privacy settings to limit people who can view their shared posts. Now, let's say you log into your social media account on a device that does not belong to you, always remember to log out! Accounts that remain logged in can be used for sketchy reasons by other people.
We're familiar with the phrase "prevention is always better than the cure", every social media user should know of the various ways to protect themselves. The Internet is a great place to get information, keep in touch with friends and entertain yourselves. And the Internet can even be a greater place when you use it safely.
By Tye Yie Lin