Lee & White

It would seem strange, and even overbold to admit that there are times when sharing is not an action deserving praise, but such situations do arise - particularly on the Internet. 

Let us use the most popular social network of our time as an example - Facebook. Facebook is all about sharing. One of the main reasons for its use is to share content with others such as pictures, videos, comments, sharing links and so on. In most instances, we share such content with the people we know on Facebook. We let our friends and family know what we're thinking about, what we ate, our current location (via Blackberry etc)...   

And then there are those who add strangers to their list by the dozen. You should see the amount of friends on the list of some of these people - running up to a thousand!  And how well do they know the people they 'friend' on their list? There are many who do not even consider the profile of their requestors before adding them to build up their list of friends. A social experiment conducted recently affirms the problems with sharing on the social network. Indeed, we would never share our personal information with strangers, so why do we do this on a social network?  

Sharing our personal information (even with friends) should be carefully considered. For example, sharing your location so that people know exactly where you are at a particular time leaves you quite vulnerable. There are users who boldly upload pictures of their passports and airline tickets with every bit of confidential information visible for all to see. Caution is certainly thrown to the wind in these cases. It is indeed a pity when people think that crimes such as identity theft and the likes are far-fetched and "only happen to others". 

Whilst it can be argued that, we were all once strangers to the other before friendship develops, the fact still remains that what one sees on the social network may not always be the truth. And be it with friends or strangers, danger lurks. For example, there have been several cases where teenagers befriend strangers through Facebook and the likes, and end up being raped. The cases come from all around the world - stretching from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the UK.  

In fact, as Facebook admits in its Privacy Policy, even after one removes information from his/her profile, or deletes his/her account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent that it has been shared with others (such as friends downloading and storing the pictures you have uploaded) and that the information might be reshared by others. So, are you still the master of your life or are you cheating yourself out? 

Undoubtedly, social networks such as Facebook have their good use - reconnecting with old friends, keeping in touch etc. However, with everything in life, caution is necessary. Use these tools wisely. 

And let us not forget about bloggers - especially mothers who blog about - every - single - thing. Yes, children's names, ages, birthdays, likes, dislikes, outings, things planned - e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. They do not realise how much they have exposed their families and themselves to danger and abuse. Writing a blog may seem like a private journal - a personal diary, but it is in fact far from p.r.i.v.a.t.e. It is a publication on the Internet - visible to a few or to all (whichever is opted for) and remains on servers which the blogger does not have control over. 

Therefore, although sharing is one of life's basic skills, sharing yourself away in these instances is at a very heavy cost and hardly deserving of praise.