We live in a world that’s increasingly connected. However, constant communication and overexposure are threatening our privacy. It also creates anxiety, especially when we don’t receive feedback from groups or individuals who are important to our identity and lifestyle. Therefore, one challenge is learning when it’s time to turn off connections to the Internet and mobile communication and productivity tools. Tuning out means getting out into your community or simply spending time with yourself or your family. Online communication technologies are always there waiting for you with all the alerts and notifications you need to review when you’ve got time. Without downtime away from electronic devices, you always feel stressed because you feel compelled to respond to communication tools. The same ways you organize your life and connect with others can make you feel like you can’t juggle everything and enjoy life!
While using internet communication to build your social life and connect with your family worldwide, please remember that your personal safety is at risk. This communication occurs invisibly for us through many different services, which are summarized here:
-Messengers
Examples include Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, and Snapchat. These tools make it easy to maintain a conversation with a stranger or a personal contact. You can check whenever you’ve got spare time and add to each conversation. The messaging app provides tools to manage the conversation, such as sharing the content with third parties, archiving it (except for tools like Snapchat), and blocking users who don’t communicate within acceptable limits. Be conscious of people who try to intercept these communications.
-Social Networks
Each social network like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter increases your business and personal connections within your community and around the world. Each tool allows you to create a profile, describe yourself in your preferred way, and have conversations and share media with other users. Join online groups to expand your education and interests, learning everything from how to help your kindergartener with his homework to tips for conducting an effective Zoom meeting. While you’re staying connected, other people can access or steal your profile and/or use your data for their purposes! Creating strong passwords and limiting open data in your profile may help.
-Forums
Niche communities attract users with a common interest, purpose, profession, or activity. Or, in the case of trending news, they crave updates about what’s happening in the world. If you collect comic books, you can join a forum online where people post about the latest trends in acquiring and selling them. Marketing firms and other entities often mine public forums for consumer data to inform their own product or service lines.
-Dating Sites
Choose a matchmaking service to meet people in your community or in a different location with shared interests and dating goals. For example, join a platform where you can message other users seeking casual dates in their free time but who don’t want to engage in a long-term relationship. Or, give it a try if you have a long-term partner and seek another couple for occasional adult adventures. Consider how to best manage your personal profile when logging into a reliable dating service such as this wild dating site. Each user has unique intentions for using the service and matching with other members. You can increase your level of connectivity to each person according to your current boundaries, thoughts, feelings, and lifestyle habits. Your communication habits should not compromise your safety, integrity, or personal reputation. Some dating sites offer email and texting options, while others also offer video dating applications.
-Online Video Chats
Lots of apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Meets, and WhatsApp offer the opportunity to connect with fellow members for free over video chat. When you use this tool, strangers can access what you look like, how you talk, your environment, and other details. They can record you and the entire transaction. Therefore, use video chat to message people you know well in real life and to quickly learn more about the person behind an online profile. Don’t let strangers get access to your personal information.
Tips for Smarter Use of Online Communication
- Never rush to share intimate details about yourself.
You don’t know who people are or if they are who they claim to be in their online profile. For example, a guy can claim he is a pilot who works for American Airlines and frequently flies to your city. However, he’s really a truck driver who lives two towns away with his wife and four kids. Maybe he just seeks a side girlfriend or a one-night stand.
- Be careful with unknown links.
In a video chat, email exchange, or instant messaging situation, another user can post a link. This invites you to leave the communication tool and access another site. The moment you click the unfamiliar link, you can expose yourself to shady schemes if the site is compromised. They might intend to steal your identity, catfish you, or even involve you in a scam.
- Safeguard your bank card information.
Never provide your bank card information to strangers or upload it to an app if you question the sponsoring organization’s authenticity. For example, you can meet a woman online who claims to be from a local nonprofit supporting an animal shelter. Let’s assume she requests your debit card number to collect your donation. If she is legit, she provides the organization’s name, which you can research independently and decide whether to make a donation online on their secure site.
- Use proven and reliable services.
It’s easy to check online if a company has a good reputation with the Better Business Bureau and/or complaints within the appropriate state’s consumer affairs department. Read the reviews on Google and other services, and if something seems off, it’s not a good idea to use that service.
- Respect other people’s personal information.
You can receive another user’s private data in online communications, such as a single girl nearby sharing her phone number. Don’t call her if the information is openly posted in her profile, only if she asks you to call her and decide if you will meet for a date in real life. The same applies to you: limit your online information and keep a passcode on mobile devices and computers, so people cannot access your communications without your knowledge.
In the end, learn about people cautiously and meet them face to face to determine their trustworthiness. Don’t keep relationships online for long because you never know who is on the other end of the chat. You might inadvertently share information that threatens you and your loved one’s safety.