Are Some Social Media Users Losing Their Friendly Side?

[image error]It appears some social networking users are reining in just what information they want out there and who exactly will see it, be it Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more sites.

According to a report (2011 survey of phone survey of 2,277 adults) Feb. 24 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a larger percentage of Facebook users are restricting what information is released about them on the site and decreasing their friend lists, as are social media users across a number of venues.

The report notes that two in three online adults (63 percent) state they presently maintain a profile on a social networking site, a major jump from only 20 percent who indicated they had ever created a profile in 2006.

Among the highlights from the report:

Forty-four percent of those surveyed claim they removed comments from their profile with a social networking site. Two years earlier, 36 percent of people said the same thing;
A larger percentage of users deleted their names from pictures in 2011 than they did in 2009;
Females were much more apt to limit their profiles than their male counterparts. Sixty-seven percent of women orchestrated their profiles so that only their "friends" can view them, while 48 percent of men did likewise;
Younger users were just as likely to utilize privacy controls as their older counterparts, with 62 percent of teens and 58 percent of adults limiting access to their profiles to just friends;
Young adults were more apt than older individuals to remove unwanted remarks. Fifty-six percent of social media users ages 18 to 29 reported removing comments that other individuals have left on their profile, compared with 40 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 34 percent of people in the 50 to 64 range;
Men are more likely to publish something on social media that they end up regretting. Fifteen percent of men reported they posted something they ended up regretting, while only 8 percent of women said the same;
Whether a result of the influx of new social media users in recent years or to those who are simplifying their online identity management, users have become more apt to maintain a profile on just a single site;
Surprisingly, social media users with the greatest levels of education note the most challenges in managing the privacy controls on their profiles. College graduates are significantly more likely than those with lower levels of education to claim that they experience a degree of difficulty in managing the privacy controls on their profiles.

As the report points highlights, social science researchers have long focused attention on a major disconnect in attitudes and practices around information privacy online. When questioned, people state that privacy is important to them; when observed, their actions seem to note otherwise.

So, as a social media user of one or more sights, where does privacy rank in importance with you?

Photo credit: law.upenn.edu

 

 

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