Almost all students use social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. However, users don’t understand that hackers can easily trace their location through a post or a picture on the users’ profiles.
“It is scary that people can easily track your location,” sophomore Callie Hutchinson said. “It makes me think about how the world is changing.”
Students don’t always know how to turn off the location setting for devices or even social media pages. The phone’s settings can enable and disable location services. When on a computer, a user can go to the social media website, then to personal settings and switch it to private, causing the user’s posts to remain private.
“I was pondering through my settings when I got my phone,” Hutchinson said. “I found it easily.”
In a quick lunch survey, questioned students realized the effects their posts can have on others.
While users can find certain posts humorous, others may take simple jokes and sarcasm seriously. A Tweet remains online forever, even if deleted; anyone could screenshot, read or save the post. Students tend to post freely and not think about what others will infer from the posts. This remains a problem in society today known as cyber bullying. Schools have a strict policy against bullying.
“It didn’t make me sad, it made me mad,” sophomore Reagan Wright said. “I just had to blow it off.”
The Student Handbook reads, “If the results of an investigation indicate that bullying occurred, the District shall promptly respond by taking appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with the District’s Student Code of Conduct, and may take corrective action reasonably calculated to address the conduct.” Legacy’s administration, faculty and staff expect students to set a good example for either the club or sport they participate in.
“It is important for me to be a good example,” Hutchinson said. “I know colleges look at social media too, and I want to be smart with what I post.”
The Safety and Security Center shares tips with the public on how to stay safe on social media websites. Informing people with tips, such as having caution when clicking on links in emails and messages, telling students to have awareness of who follows them and who they follow on their profiles, helps safely keep students from causing any harm to others or themselves.
“I don’t know all of my followers on Twitter,” sophomore Christina Lovato said. “It scares me though because that means anyone is following me.”
Anybody has the ability to access someone’s account and screenshot, print or email pictures and posts to themselves. They can use these pieces of evidence against the user in their daily lives or send them to a coach, sponsor, parent or even a teacher in order to get another student into trouble. For instance, John Smith* was found with a picture taken and posted to his Instagram that did not abide by the rules of their coach. A fellow acquaintance took a screenshot and sent the photo to the coach, and Smith was punished for what he posted.
“I was scared to death and I didn’t know what to do,” Smith said. “I just told the truth and did my punishment for it.”
Pop-up ads are a common type of virus available on computer websites. They are uniformed to look as normal websites to visit or special prizes to win, but when clicked on, they access and take control of the computer.
“I don’t click on pop-up ads,” Lovato said. “I know what they do to the computer and I don’t want that to happen to mine.”
Social media has grown to such a state where anything can happen within it. Users aren’t considered safe anymore with the technology they once were. Anything is possible on the Internet and everything is permanent, even if they think not.
“A majority of my time spent on the Internet I am safe,” Hutchinson said. “I want to be smarter with what I post now that I know how serious this is though.”
For more information on how phones and computers can be hacked and tracked visit the NBC Action News website.
*Name has been changed.
