Facebook users still afraid about Timeline: Study

Many consumers are concerned about their privacy with Facebook’s Timeline, but it turns out most of them aren’t doing anything about it besides talking a lot of talk.

To tell you the truth, my aversion to Facebook’s Timeline feature, has to do more with the aesthetics and ease of manovovering once way arounf; than privacy. But a recent survey conducted by malware and anti-virus security solutions provider Webroot, says that most of the Facebook users are still wary of Facebook’s timeline feature (which debuted in September last year), for Privacy reasons.

Study findings:


1) According to the report, at least 88 percent of consumers are concerned about the privacy of information they include on their Facebook profiles.The most common response when asked what was most concerning about Timeline was that it is an mandatory, automatic opt-in feature.

2) However, despite showing their concern, almost half of these fearful people did nothing to their profiles when Facebook Timeline was officially turned on and enforced. Only a section of Facebook users acted to safegwaurd themselves. Approximately one-third of the concerned Facebook users adjusted who could see at least one or more of their activities displayed on Timeline, while 17 percent deleted status updates, images, and content.

3) The survey report, which is based on the responses from 1,637 Internet users age 18 and older in Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States surveyed in March 2012 finds that for Facebook members in the United States, the most commonly cited reason as to why they removed content was that it was “Something you wouldn’t want your employer to see.” This simply means that, although users may still have concerns as to how Facebook chooses to pick their data (in a non-transparent manner); they cleaned their Facebook profiles for the fear of a back lash in their professional lives. Researchers found that 82 percent of the respondents were also concerned about the privacy of information they include on their Google accounts.

Taking the point further:


It has earlier been reported here, how Employers in USA are asking job seekers to surrender their Facebook user name and passwords. The employers’ objective here is to ensure that the job aspirant’s online behavior doesn’t negatively affect the goodwill of the company, in case it chooses to hire him/hire.
To inform you, this trend is not limited to US alone, employers in other countries are also scanning job seeker’s behavior on social networks.

Hence if you are hunting for a job, and are in a habit of fowl talk, posting inappropriate pictures and views on Facebook, twitter etc., then you are NOT IMPROVING your employability prospects.

In addition, those who are using anonymous/fake handles on social networks to act inappropriately, should also remember that big companies use specialized softwares and intelligence to nail down the identity of the person; even when he/she is hiding behind the anonymous/fake identity.

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