A Question of Culture - III
Do you use social networking sites?
Saleh Hussein, From: Qatar
Social networks are the enemy of privacy, those who subscribe to these sites do not know the danger facing them. In some cases, their pictures may be copied and their personal information could be misused by miscreants.
I know one girl whose pictures were copied by some male member, and as she did not agree to meet him, he signed up under her real name, uploaded a picture and false information that really discredit her.
I know most Qataris who subscribe to these networks, do it under false names. However, many of them have started to trust networks like Facebook as it has strict privacy rules. Still people upload false pictures, but once a member on their friends’ list, one can find real pictures.
I personally do not trust new people and I add friends whom I know from real life and stay updated with their news. It helps particularly to stay in touch with those of my friends who have left Qatar.
The most important thing to put in mind is that the “cyber world” is not trustworthy and using social websites without caution could be very harmful.
Nadia Ismail, From: Britain
I use social networking sites, particularly Facebook, purely for keeping in touch with friends, as I have many friends living abroad.
For me, it helps me and my friends to keep up-to-date with each other, seeing where they went on holiday, or even just catching up on the fun in each others lives.
There are many issues dealing with privacy and identity fraud, but it’s simple really - if you don’t want something to go out into the public sphere, don’t place it in a public forum or where people can easily access it!
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=307818...
of feeling loved and wanted in a virtual wrold which becomes fulfilling feelings for the real world voids. Can be disastrous fro some.
Source:
- A study Conducted by FriedUnicorn - Vol I (September,1999)
Paranoia vs Common Sense.
What gets me is these people who add everyone as a friend, just because they ask. I have around 40 pending buddy requests on QL, but you can be damned sure that you won't get added till I actually meet you!