The use of social media is becoming more frequent by the day. People from a wide range of age groups have active accounts on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Regarding the use of these sites, there are two different schools of thought. Some consider it constructive, others consider it destructive. A lot can be written about the use of social media, but don’t worry I am not going to highlight the benefits or drawbacks of these sites. I am also not going to convince you to stop using social media. I am just going to tell you some ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ when using social media, to make sure that you are safe and your information is inaccessible to people there. Don’t let these sites be used as a tool against you.

just going to tell you some ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ when using social media, to make sure that you are safe and your information is inaccessible to people there. Don’t let these sites be used as a tool against you.

Seek permission from your parents

Seek your parents’ permission before making any social media account or signing up on any website in general. They must know where you intent to go in cyberspace and they will be your best guides.

Check out the privacy policy

Whenever you plan to sign up or make an account on any website, do read the privacy policy. It would help you understand how your information will be handled and used.

If the privacy policy of some site doesn’t seem reasonable, don’t sign up. Also ask an adult to go through the information to see if the site/service is reliable and suitable for use.

Also, be mindful of the minimum age requirement of signing up on a site. A lot of sites require you to be over 13 or 18 years of age and these requirements are there for a reason, so don’t ignore them. If you are underage, don’t sign up. All the people there are over the required age and you are not, so the content and activities there are not appropriate for your age.

Provide limited information

Whenever you make an account on some website, try to provide only that data which is required for signing up. Never mention extra, irrelevant or peripheral details about yourself as these details, if leaked, can be used against you. So, be very careful and selective when you provide your information to a website.

Use a difficult password

While creating your account on a website, make sure to choose a password that is challenging to predict.

According to a research, “abcdef” or “123456” are the most frequent passwords and such IDs can be hacked easily. If you have a similar password, change it immediately. An ideal password is a mix of alphabets and digits and it should contain both capital and small letters.

One key thing to remember while setting a password is its length because the longer the password, the more difficult it is for others to guess. A tough and unique secret code will make your account secure from hackers.

Don’t share your password

There are some people in my circle who don’t hesitate to share their passwords with others. I would forbid you to tell your password to anyone because sharing passwords, even with your trusted ones, is not a good practice. It can result in complications and problems.

You have to learn to say ‘No’ if someone asks for your password. Secondly, if you have already shared your password with someone, change your password immediately and never tell anybody again.

Try a different password for each of your accounts so that if one of your accounts is hacked, the others remain safe. If you have the same password for all accounts and one is hacked, change the passwords of all other accounts without delay.

Trust only trusted websites

Do not create accounts on each and every website you visit. Make accounts only on reliable and trusted websites that have a good repute and security policy. You can take the advice of your parents or elder siblings.

Don’t create multiple accounts on the same website because it would consume more time and you’ll find it difficult to manage them and your mismanagement may also harm you.

Never mention your location

You’ll see lots of posts on Facebook, mentioning location but this isn’t safe, so don’t go for it. Turn off your location and never allow location tracker so that nobody knows where you are at a given moment. Otherwise, you’ll be easily accessible and vulnerable.

Privacy settings

Opt for stringent privacy settings. I would suggest that you should not share personal photographs on social media or internet in general, and if you do, keep a check on your privacy. Your pictures, if leaked, can also be used against you.

Add only those you know well

You’ll get lots of friend requests on daily basis. You don’t have to accept them all. Rather, you should try to accept as few as possible. Don’t consider a list of mutual friends while accepting someone’s friend request. Accept someone’s request only after you personally identify the person you’re adding and the ID is not fake.

Most importantly, your parents, elder siblings or any other trusted adult should be aware of who your friends are on social media and you have your parents’ permission to be friends with them.

I know this is hard and many of you hate the idea of your parents snooping into your accounts and knowing about your online activities, but dears, it is for your own good that they need to do it. They are older and have more experience of life and people, they can judge better who is right for you as a friend and who is not.

Spams and random links

Never ever try to open spam messages. They can feed virus in your system. So, refrain from spam. Don’t open random links from unfamiliar sources too; they can also affect your system.

Keep an eye on the address bar!

Before entering your username and password, make sure that the address, in the address bar, is correct. Sometimes, people enter their username/password in fake websites (that look exactly like the real ones but have different web address) and get their accounts hacked.

Avoid Facebook apps

Facebook apps appear really attractive and persuading. People are always curious to know things like “Who’s your best friend? Or what do your eyes tell about you? Or what do people like the most in your personality?”

This is all nothing but fraud to get access to your personal information. Who on Earth is not familiar with the fact that the results of such apps are not based on truth? Control the temptation to use such apps because if you log in to such apps using your Facebook account, they would have access to your private information, even your text messages. Your personal conversation would no more be personal.

So, try to avoid such apps and surveys that require access to your data.

Opt for log in alerts

Log in alerts assist you make your account, and hence your data and information, secure. Do opt for log in alerts so that whenever your account is logged in from a bizarre website, you get a notification or alert. In this way, you can take measures or change your password before any damage is done.

Don’t forget to log out!

Before leaving the PC or any other gadget that you use while surfing on the internet, make sure that you log out from all your accounts. Otherwise, anyone using that gadget afterwards would be able to access your account and make changes to it. So, be careful in this regard.

I hope these points would prove valuable and help you secure your account and confidentiality. Do share this information with your friends to spread the word about social media safety.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 27th, 2016