There is a steady rise in the use and application of Social Media Networks. A lot of people often use popular websites and networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. However, these platforms have sparked controversy and a lot of arguments. One of the major debates is the intrusion of people’s privacy by the use of social media. Some individuals have expressed displeasure due to the lack of privacy that they could have in their social platform accounts. Some feel that the authorities are way too involved that they feel their privacy is no longer respected, while others are careless or share differing opinions. There is no complete warranting for social media monitoring, and some have argued that there are various reasons why they are beneficial. This essay will focus on why social media and privacy are aligned and the reasons why it is necessary and recommendable.
Most individuals perceive the monitoring of social networks as an intrusion of privacy due to the complete accessibility of social media accounts by the government. However, the “intrusion” and monitoring are done for good purposes (Sarikakis & Winter, 2017). One of the reasons is that there have been incidences where criminals and thugs are arrested due to the posts they make on their Facebook accounts or the tweets on Twitter. Some have used these accounts to boast of the crimes they have gotten away with or some evil deeds they are planning to execute. Through this, law enforcement agencies get a chance to apprehend such individuals and lock them up (Custers, van der Hof & Schermer, 2014).
The topic of privacy intrusion is also relevant for universities and employers. Only shady people with some hidden agendas or activities are alarmed by privacy intrusion on social platforms. Through the use of these networks, people can check and assess various institutions as well as their potential employers and may get a glimpse of what they should expect (Trepte, 2015).
There are reasons for the legislation of laws, and despite the fact that some are controversial and debatable, they have a core aim of ensuring that society is safe and secure. In such instances, social networks are no exemption. So long as people are doing the right thing and are using the networks in the right manner, then there is nothing to worry about. Furthermore, it would be logical if one refrains from posting or updating something which they consider private and do not want people or law enforcers to see.