Staying safe on the internet is a growing concern. Social networking sites have grown astronomically popular over the past several years. However, as with anything good in life, there are risks in addition to the rewards. In this world full of identity theft and online predators, people should be discrete about what information they choose to disclose or not disclose on such websites.
While blogging is extremely popular these days, is it really the best thing to disclose where you are or what you are doing every minute of every day? If there is somebody out there who could possibly want to harm you, you are giving them all the tools and all the information that they need to find you. While blogging in itself is not harmful, disclosing exact names, addresses, and times should be kept to a minimum.
In addition to stalkers, another potential risk is identity theft. I know several people identity theft has happened to. My own sister had somebody steal her identity after her cell phone was stolen. These things can take countless time and money and aggravation to sort out. It's scary how little information somebody actually needs to steal your identity. An identity thief can get so far with just a name and one other piece of information, such as a birthdate or address. In general, when making an account or username on any website, I try to keep the amount of information I disclose to an absolute bare minimum, providing only what is required. If a site is asking for more information than is necessary, for example, asking for a credit card number without providing a reason, then this is a red flag that something could be wrong, and this registration should be aborted.
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