Steve Kerrison, over at HEXUS.net, and Professor Nigel Smart of the Computer Science Department at the University of Bristol (UK) think so.

As these sites continue to grow in popularity, so too does the value of the information on them to parties other than those directly involved. Parents can see what their children really get up to at [school]. Teachers can see what their pupils really think. Potential employers can profile applicants based on their online braggings and other shenanigans. While much of the content might be taken humorously amongst friends, other parties might not see it that way.

Is it as bad as all that?

Well, not surprisingly, the answer lies somewhere between the fear-mongers and people who think everything is alright.

People should be more careful when sharing their information at a social networking site. Especially if that information, if under a pseudonym that could be readily tied back to you, is sensitive. For instance, giving your health data over to some large corporate marketing company is probably not a good idea, since they could readily mine that data and tie it to your real identity. That’s one of the reasons I’m wary of any health website that offers strong social networking components — the privacy of the user’s data simply cannot be assured in such an open, sharing-oriented setting.

But when used carefully and for very specific social purposes, I believe you can maintain your privacy to a degree. For instance, if I have an interest in fly fishing, I believe I can share that in a social networking profile without giving away something important about my persona.

If, instead, I want to share my drunken party pictures with a friend online, you’d better believe those photos are eventually going to end up somewhere that is indexed by a search engine. And once that is done, as the article notes, it is virtually impossible to undo the damage.

I believe the danger lies not with the generation of teens who are growing up with the Internet as an integrated component of their lives, personality and identity. Rather the greatest risk lies with the inbetween generation and adults who don’t fully understand or comprehend how, once they publish something at MySpace or Facebook, it will be basically available for all-time, to everyone.

Care should be taken at the outset of publishing — understanding what the user privacy options are, how to use them properly, and ensuring nothing is put online that you’d be embarrassed to show your mother or boss. After all, there’s a reason why we keep some things private, right?

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 Dec 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.