SOCIAL NETWORKS

Social Networks: A Global Threat

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Aims and Objectives4

Research Questions4

Significance of the Study4

Literature Review5

Methodology7

Literature Search7

Data Analysis Method8

Time Scale8

References9

Social Networks: A Global Threat

Introduction

The integration and popularity of social networking websites has been an undeniable success for those who create and run them. Users create profiles and provide information which allows them to connect with old friends, make new friends and become part of a community that barely existed 10 years ago (Lampe, Ellison and Steinfield, 2010). One of the most popular social networking websites is Facebook, which has become a juggernaut in the social networking websites business (Stutzman, 2006). It allows users to add information to their profiles that could be considered sensitive such as phone numbers, relationship statuses and pictures of a user. The Harvard Business Review has weighed in on this topic, warning that “New technologies too heedlessly adopted or opportunistically applied, will continue to threaten personal privacy” (McCreary, 2008).

Social networking websites have revolutionized the manner in which individuals present themselves. In particular, Facebook has been a leader in this shift that has taken private aspects of people's lives and made them public. This shift calls into question what types of information are still considered private. “What it means to be public or private is quickly changing before our eyes and we lack the language, social norms, and structures to handle it” (Boyd, 2007). The profiles on social networking websites allow users to publish virtually anything about themselves. “Participation in these sites involves extensive self-disclosure” (Tufekci, 2008).

Aims and Objectives

The aim and objectives of this work are as follows:

To classify the grounds which work as the motivations of Internet users using the social networks

To identify the risk of violating users' privacy

To analyze and calculate efficiency of the control approaches used

Research Questions

Following are the research questions of this work:

RQ1: What are the grounds which work as the motivations of Internet users using the social networks?

RQ2: What is the risk of violating users' privacy?

RQ3: What is the efficiency of the control approaches used?

Significance of the Study

As a global threat, specific privacy concerns of online social network include unplanned discovery of personal information, damaged reputation due to rumors and gossip, unwanted contact and harassment, use of private data by third-parties, hacking and identity theft (boyd & Ellison, 2008). Personal privacy is a factor that cannot be comprised in any way and thus, there lies a need to study the ever growing privacy concern in social networking websites. For this purpose, this project investigates the effect on privacy damages on Social Network like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube, etc. and how users understand the potential threat to their privacy.

Literature Review

Privacy has long been an important and heavily debated issue in The UK. Though the definition and context of privacy may change from society to society, Moore's anthropological research shows that “the desire for privacy is a panhuman trait” (Metzger, 2004). In 1999 the CEO of Sun Microsystems was quoted as saying “You have a no privacy anyway, get over it” (Kumar, Novak ...