Social Network Users Concerned Media is Watching Them

Posted on June 5, 2008

The BBC reports that a Press Complaints Commission survey found that 80% of those polled said they would be more cautious about what they posted on social media websites if they knew they were being watched by the media.

Almost 80% of social networking site users would be more careful about the details they put online if they knew the media might use them, a poll says.

The Press Complaints Commission said 89% of the 1,000 people polled wanted guidelines on what the media could use.

And 42% of 16 to 24-year-old who used such websites said they knew someone who had been embarrassed by material which was posted without consent.

The PCC is opening talks on how it should respond to the issue.

In a sense they are being watched by the media so they should be more careful. On the other hand a lot of what it is posted to social networks is trivial and unlikely to be of any interest to blogs or the mainstream media.

The study also found people think it is wrong for the media to take information they have posted publicly without their consent.

The poll also found 49% of respondents said it was wrong for the media to use information they had posted on line without asking the consent of the person concerned.

And 58% were fairly or very concerned about the lack of control about how they were depicted on websites.

And of social networking site members, 55% considered whether personal details such as photos might be used by someone else without their consent, before posting them online.

Sir Christopher said the PCC's current code of practice would be able to handle complaints about media outlets using material skimmed from networking sites.

Since this information is posted publicly it is hard to see how the media could be prevented from quoting it. Young people posting information publicly that is inappropriate probably have other even bigger concerns as well such as that an employer or university they are applying to might see it.

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