With social media interactions becoming an inevitable aspect of life, keeping information private is a challenge. Failing to keep your privacy settings watertight can leave you vulnerable with data about your location, interests, and the people you associate with being potentially available to all.
Women are particularly susceptible to online stalking and abuse. This can be a major problem for those who use social media as a platform for advertising or for debate. “It’s generally not appreciated when women have strong opinions,” said Poonam Kaul, director of communications at Nokia India. “People are prepared to be much more abusive online as they can do it behind a computer screen.”
For those reliant on online interaction, there are effective measures to ensure that social media remains a place for constructive discussions. Facebook’s report and Twitter’s blocking systems are well used and users are encouraged to ‘collectively block’ in order to make sure that abusers are banned quicker. A change in Twitter policy last year prevented users from blocking others, only allowing them to mute harassers. The move was greeted with huge opposition, resulting in Twitter having to reverse the change shortly after.
Recently, social media has been turning the tables with the intention to improve safety in the real world. SafetiPin is a free map-based mobile application which utilises crowdsourced reviews and ratings to determine the safety of a neighbourhood, granting them a ‘safety score’. The app allows users to conduct their own safety audits, post pictures and comments on concerning hazards, as well as setting up “circles of interest” to track certain areas and alert of new developments in them. “The aim is to create safer communities through the power of crowd involvement, and to help women feel safer when travelling alone,” continued Kaul.
The general consensus is when using social media you “just have to be careful,“ said fitness expert Wanitha Ashok. “Provided that the privacy options are maintained and are used by account holders, the positives of social media far outweigh the negatives.”
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