Be careful what you post on Facebook

/ Korea Times file

By Rachel Lee

In today’s tech-driven world, social media sites such as Facebook have become an essential part of life for many, where they can expand their social network, organize events and plan out a weekend.

But while Facebook may have revolutionized the way people socialize, experts warn that users must take care not to reveal too much. Failing to take basic precautionary measures, they say, can cost a person his or her privacy.

In one sign of the power of the site, a University of Cambridge study recently showed that the Facebook pages a person likes can give a more accurate analysis of personality than the people closest to them. It’s even possible to guess a person’s sexuality with a high degree of accuracy, based simply on those likes.

USA Today recently compiled a list of things to avoid when spending time on Facebook. Such precautions are applicable to Korea as well and should be considered for the sake of security.

First of all, make sure an address is not visible on the page. If people go on vacation and post photos while away from home, this could tip criminals to the fact that their house is empty.

The paper suggested that Facebook users make sure they have not listed their address or contact information in their profile. Users should take care not to include their address when creating an event, or delete it soon after it has been held.

Secondly, they should avoid posting any material that shows where they work. Doing so increases the chances for fellow employees learning something about them that they may not want to share. The paper added that hackers use social media to gather information about employees as a first step in breaking into a company.

As tempting as it may be to let the world know about new significant others, the paper said posting relationship statuses to Facebook acquaintances can invite awkwardness.

“The number of ‘likes’ that you might get from people after you change your status from ‘dating,’ or even ‘married,’ to ‘single’ or ‘it’s complicated’ will creep you out,” USA Today explained, adding that there was a Facebook app that notified users when certain friends changed their relationship status to “single.”

People should also take care when providing Facebook with credit card information. While this can be used to buy gift cards and other products from the website, it opens a person up to accidental charges. If Facebook ever has a security breach, your credit card number could be exposed.

Launched in 2004, the social networking site has had meteoric success. The number of its users reached 1.35 billion in 2014, according to the company.