Who’s Watching What YOU Say On Social Media?
There is no question that the government and its watchdog groups have their eyes and ears open. They monitor web traffic in order to hopefully pinpoint terrorist activity before it can come to a head. While some may see this as a violation of privacy it is hard to argue with the fact that if it produces results and saves lives then it is worth its weight. At what point though does a violation of your privacy become too much? Who is watching what you say on social media outlets like Twitter or Facebook?
Big Brother
You can be sure that the government has a close watch on what is being said online. It’s likely that there are more times that they put a halt to potentially dangerous activities than we ever hear about. Whether it is the FBI, CIA, or Homeland Security each agency has its own monitoring program that looks for certain keywords and phrases. At the same time, these agencies have put a great deal of time and funding into training so that agents are more likely to know when action is warranted.
Employers
Many big companies now engage in monitoring program designed to ensure that employees are acting appropriately online. Whether it is preventing the sharing of company information or simply protecting the company image employers are keeping an eye out on what you say. This doesn’t only go for current employees either. When you apply to a big company these days you can be that they will look you up online and see what sort of things you have been talking about and will decide how your conversations will reflect on the company before ever hiring you.
Colleges and Universities
Scholarship holders beware – your school could very well be watching what you say on social media. Wild students have been responsible for bringing bad press to schools in the past, and now the schools are fighting back. With monitoring programs in place schools are keeping a much closer watch on students. Whether it is mentions of parties, sexual conduct, alcohol, or even slang that can be construed as something considered off limits by the school students are finding it harder and harder to get away with activities that they would flaunt in the past and still be able to keep their scholarships or stay enrolled.
Does this mean that you should curtail your activity with all the potential ‘eyes’ watching what you are doing online? Not at all. What it does mean is that you should simply watch what you say. Use some common sense especially if you are a student or work for a large company that may be monitoring your social media use. Don’t give them a reason to question your postings. At the same time it does make one wonder how much monitoring is too much. When are they going too far in their monitoring? Are they making decisions that affect people, employees, or students who never meant anything harmful by what they said? Suffice to say that this is going to continue to be a hot topic for some time to come.