Young Reveal Too Much Online
November 23, 2007 | by Christopher Nickson
Young people are warned that they reveal far too much personal information online.
In Britain, the Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO) has warned that young people often reveal far too much about themselves on social network sites, to the extent that they could be laying themselves open to identity theft. This follows a survey they’ve conducted among 14 to 21-year-olds.
According to figures, 60% of those asked put their date of birth, some 25% listed job titles, and 10% even gave their home address. Up to two-thirds accept people they did not know as friends on their pages.
At the same time, 71% of those question admitted they wouldn’t want potential employers or colleges running a Web search on them before they had a chance to make changes to their pages.
“Many young people are posting content online without thinking about the electronic footprint they leave behind,” ICO deputy commissioner David Smith told the BBC. "The cost to a person's future can be very high if something undesirable is found by the increasing number of education institutions and employers using the internet as a tool to vet potential students or employees."
However, it’s not all bad news. 54% of respondents were very concerned about the way their personal information was used, and 95% were upset at the way their data was passed to advertisers and other sites.
The survey comes at a time the ICO has launched a new site to help the young online.
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