In today’s digital world, everyone has information at his or her fingertips. Be the information true, false or merely questionable — it’s fully available.
However, while having access to terabytes of information, it is just as easy to put out your own information. However, you may not want everyone seeing what you post.
With the popularity of social networking websites and blogs, it has become all too easy to put personal information on public display. What many people don’t realize is that the world is bigger than they perceive and has more information than most would be comfortable with sharing.
One of my biggest peeves is listening to common Internet users blame the websites they use for posting their personal information. Those idiots are the ones to provide it.
Websites have terms and conditions we should read — though most people don’t and even have these bogus settings such as “privacy.” Who would have thought that you had a choice about what information you made available? People treat the Internet like the little brother who read a page of his sister’s journal when it was the sister who left it open on the table.
Are you going on vacation? Why not announce it on your Facebook or Twitter? Why not tell all potential thieves exactly how long you will be gone?
Are you going to send a naughty picture of yourself to someone via phone, e-mail or file transfer? Guess what, it is easy to copy and move from place to place. Don’t be surprised if someone you don’t know or like winds up with a copy.
Ever heard the term “Google it”? Guess what? You should try googling your name sometime. Oh, and don’t worry, I’m sure you weren’t the first person to search for it.
It seems like people have forgotten how easy it is to look someone up in a phonebook. Phonebooks are public information and have more than just numbers next to names. Addresses are in there, too. Searchable phonebook databases are readily and easily available on the Internet. If someone knows part of your name and so much as what state you live in, it isn’t too difficult for that person to find out more about you. There are also many other kinds of public information out there on the Internet that never used to be as readily available and easily accessed.
It doesn’t help that the news is always featuring horror stories about some idiot who giving out too much personal information and suffered the consequences.
Part of the reason could be that it is easier to trust people on the Internet or maybe that it just isn’t as scary as the outside world. However, you can’t trust every site or person you meet. Just think about how easy it is to fib about who you are. Guess what, it is for everyone else too. If it sounds too true — it probably is.
The next time you begin to say something about yourself on the Internet, be wary of who can see, find and use the information. Just take off your noob goggles and open your eyes. Alt+F4

Megan Myer/Online editor
Megan Myer can be reached at [email protected].