Using Social Media ‘safely’ #edtech

Using social media is easy. Using social media wisely is not quite so easy. Using social media safely is harder still.

Being safe online is, or should be, easy. Being safe with what you share, and with how, is different on each network or platform or device, and requires time and effort to know and understand the subtleties of the settings for each of your accounts.

Take a look at this infographic  on how burglars are using social media to find and exploit you:

How Burglars Are Using Social Media (Infographic)

This is more than just a information on how to protect yourself against theft-type infographic. You can read into this a whole lot about what information you share without even realising it, what the settings on different networks and platforms mean (do you know the difference between “friends” and “friends-of-friends” on Facebook? If not then you need to go check NOW), and what this information says about you.

I’ve written before about my work on social media and employability, and this infographic can and should be read in conjuncture with it – it’s not just your future employment that is at stake if your get your settings wrong, it’s also the contents of your bag, car, or even home!

If you’re interested in metadata, this guide from The Guardian is a good starting point.