Social media has changed the way we experience the world. Whether sharing our feelings about a local issue on Facebook or watching influencers dance it out on TikTok, people across all generations spend countless hours on social channels. Social platforms may seem harmless and fun at first, encouraging us to lose our inhibitions and show our authentic selves. Scrolling our social feeds can be entertaining, helping us wind down after a stressful day. But social media isn't as safe as it appears, so it's important to take precautions before hanging out in digital spaces. Here are five tips to make sure your social media experience stays a positive and secure one.
1. Check your social media privacy settings
When's the last time you checked your privacy settings on your social accounts? If it's been a while, go back in there and dust off the cobwebs. Check to see if your posts, profile information, and friends list are open to the public. If they are, consider restricting them so that only your friends can see them. Default settings are often permissive, giving strangers more insight into your life than they should have.
Social media platforms roll out new privacy settings from time to time, too. If you haven't taken a look at your settings recently, you may be missing an opportunity to strengthen your digital security. Thinking of opening an account on a new social media platform? The app probably won't ask you to check out the privacy settings as you're getting started, so make sure to do it yourself.
2. Share as little personal information as possible
Social media gives you a powerful way to share your life with the people you care about — and everybody else, too. The conversations you have on social channels can even feel private and intimate, as if you were chatting with your friends in person. During the pandemic, these connections have been an important lifeline for people who are self-isolating at home. It's only human to want to bond with others on social media, but don't be lulled into a false of security when having conversations that strangers can also see.
It's probably okay to post a celebratory tweet when your favorite sports team has won a crucial game, but you may want to think twice before sharing your inner world with the rest of the world. Especially if your posts are public, share as little personal information as possible. This includes addresses, phone numbers, pet names, and relationships. Even that photo of you living your best life on a well-deserved vacation could put you at risk if you share it on your public feed.
3. Be careful when responding to people you don't know
One of the best parts about social media, in addition to hosting the largest treasure trove of cat pictures the world has ever known, is how it makes us feel connected and seen. So when an interesting post shows up on your feed, you may be tempted to comment. If the post is from an account you don't know, however, take a good look at it before responding. Facebook groups in particular are notorious for spreading innocent-looking posts that invite you to cough up personal information, such as your birthday, that cyber attackers can harvest and use to break into your online accounts. Online quizzes and games often try to do the same thing.
These devious social media attacks prey on one of our cognitive biases about cybersecurity: our optimism bias. A friendly voice inside our head says, "I'm not that important. What would a hacker want with my information anyway? It won't hurt anything just to leave this one little comment." The reality, however, is that cyber criminals can and do go after regular folks' personal information. By resisting the urge to comment on suspicious social media posts, you can protect yourself from social engineering attacks like these.
4. Keep your radar up for social media scams
By now, you're probably an expert at spotting a dodgy email. You're likely tired of all those spam calls you've been getting on your phone, too. So while you might have your guard up on email and on the phone, cyber attackers might still be able to bait you with a scam on social media. (This goes for text messages, too.) If you get a private message (often referred to as a DM or a PM on social channels) that looks suspicious and includes a link, treat it the same way you would handle a shady email. Flag it as a phishing message if you can, then delete it and move on.
Also be careful when adding new friends and talking to people you don't know. Catfishing is not limited to dating apps, and it's more common than you might think. If someone you're already friends with on social media sends you a new friend request, your antennae should go up. It's possible that a bad actor is trying to impersonate your friend, so check in with your friend — ideally off of social media — and ask them if the request is real before accepting it. While you're at it, take a look at your friends list. Friends have privileged access to your personal information, and if they get hacked you may be next. If there's anyone on your friends list you don't really know, do a bit of spring cleaning.
5. Take advantage of smart cybersecurity tools
If you're exhausted just thinking of all the ways you have to protect yourself just to live your life online, take heart. There are smart cybersecurity tools that can ease the burden, making it easier to stay safe on social media. You can use a password manager to securely store your social media passwords, protecting them from malicious actors who would love nothing more than to get into your accounts and start poking around.
When it's time to update one of your social media passwords or make it stronger, the password manager will automatically notify you and then give you an option to automatically generate a new password. And if hackers manage to get a hold of one of your social media passwords in a data breach, the password manager's dark web monitoring feature will give you a heads up so you can reset the compromised password right away.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) can protect your social media accounts even further. If you see one of these options available while reviewing your account settings, take the time to activate it. Once you do, the 2FA or MFA tool will ask you to complete an additional step each time you log into your social media account. You might get a text message or an email with a verification code, or you could use an authenticator app to provide that code directly from your phone. Once this additional layer of security is in place, it'll be harder for cyber criminals to gain access to your social media account — and you'll know if one of them tries.
Staying safe on social media is easier than you might think
Social media gives us the power to express ourselves and connect with others in a way that wasn't possible before. But just like in the real world, there are also unsavory characters hanging out on social platforms. Staying safe on social media involves using the same street smarts you would in the real world, for example by locking down your privacy settings and being careful about what you share online. Smart cybersecurity tools can lighten the load, helping you protect your social media accounts without having to keep mental track of so many details on your own. By taking these steps to secure your digital life, you can enjoy greater peace of mind while scrolling, commenting, and posting to your heart's content.
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