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Ask Deanie
| Archives Deanie Kepler's previously published columns |
SMU Parent Liaison Deanie Kepler offers advice on helping your student. |
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"Reputation Theft" Hurts Students
I cannot go another week without sharing my concerns with you. While I do not fully understand this phenomenon – it hadn’t taken off when our daughter graduated from college in ’98 – I do know that all the students are doing IT. IT is Facebook and MySpace and any of the other (Sconex, Xanga, etc.) so-called online “networking communities.”
Facebook alone has 8 million registered users and is growing by 20,000 new users each day. It covers 45% of all colleges and universities – about 2,000. It is used by 80% of the students at colleges that have Facebook. It is the 10th most-visited Internet site with 5.5 billion page views a month and 230 million views a day! MySpace had over 2 million users in June 2004 and has grown to over 48 million in December 2005.
Obviously Facebook and MySpace are fulfilling the students’ needs. When asked why they like these communities, students most frequently answered:
- ability to meet new people,
- reuniting with old friends,
- expressing themselves as individuals,
- networking,
- entertaining,
- socializing with those you might not meet face to face,
- helping find individual identity,
- learning more about friends and
- easily accessing information about others.
Despite the many positive benefits to these networking communities, there are hidden dangers for students when they expose personal information. According to Don Philabaum, President and CEO of Internet Association Corporation, this information could well lead to identity theft and fraud. “Thieves don’t want to steal your student’s money, they want their identity and reputation.” With as little information as your student’s full name, birthday, and cell phone number, thieves can obtain identification cards, birth certificates, social security numbers, even credit card numbers. Current sites show that students readily list birthdays, e-mail addresses, home addresses, cell numbers, residence hall rooms and other personal information. Photos are often in very poor taste. Shocking statements are posted like “I’m 21 and love to drink shots,” or “I like to get drunk,” or “I cheated on a test” or, worse yet, references about sex are plentiful. Ask your student if this is how they want to be seen in public? Facebook and MySpace expose students to people they don’t know, to sororities before rush, to future roommates, to a future spouse or partner, to future employers and to those with evil intentions – they are PUBLIC whether students believe it or not! While the statements and photos posted may seem harmless, they can cause serious problems in the future.
Encourage your student to take precautions:
- Limit contact information to name and email address.
- Do not include information that could help an identity thief, such as birth date, social security number, banking information.
- Do not accept connections from strangers.
- Students should be careful about what they say and how they say things online. Before joining a group, ask, “Does the group offend a person, a place or a nationality?” Before posting information, ask, “Will the content give an employer, friend or other person the wrong impression of me?” Remember, what is said can still be online twenty years from now and may be regretted later.
- Set a reasonable limit on how long to use the Web site each day – it can interfere with academics.
- Report anyone that might be harassing to you or a friend.
- Periodically check and delete any unwanted connections.
- Your student should actively expand his or her circle of friends in the real world. Start with friends on campus!
It is definitely a whole new world out there – please join us as we try to keep your students safe. Special thanks to Don Philabaum, President and CEO of the Internet Association Corporation for the information contained in this article. IAC assists college admissions, orientation, student affairs, residence hall, alumni and development personnel in engaging and involving students in positive Internet technologies.
Talk to your student now – there is no time to waste!
Good luck,
Deanie
Question for Deanie? Ask Deanie at gkepler@smu.edu or 214-768-4797.
