The Risks in Modern Social Life: The Issue of Privacy on Facebook

High modernity is characterized as “the recognition that science and technology are double-edged, creating new parameters of risk and danger as well as offering beneficent possibilities for humankind” (Giddens, 27). While doing research for my MRP, it is common to come across articles discussing the safety and privacy concerns with respect to Facebook. Similar to the way in which globalization has presented new challenges to national security, Facebook illustrates these very same challenges. While Facebook is often praised for its ability to connect friends and family from all over the globe using a “community interface”, these benefits are coupled with a considerable amount of risk. The website, “Love to Know” (http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Facebook_Risks) outlined the potential risks of Facebook such as identity theft, stalking and teen predators and it provided useful tips for people to minimize such risks. While people may choose not to participate in social sites such as Facebook, the internet plays such an integral role in contemporary society that people are exposed to these risks regardless (e.g. shopping online).

Living under the conditions of modernity can be understood as “a matter of the routine contemplation of counterfactuals” (Giddens, 29). There is a counterfactual character evident in Facebook as users are constantly updating their privacy settings to ensure that they are minimizing the potential risks that are associated with the site. For example, only allowing “friends” to see one’s pictures and information is a way to reduce the possible risks. Furthermore, the continuous scrutiny regarding Facebook’s privacy policies which include the media and the government’s Policy Commission illustrates the anxieties surrounding the issue of privacy. Canada’s Privacy Commission sets privacy standard and monitors compliance on an ongoing basis. Since Facebook is accessed by people from all over the world, it is challenged to comply with each country’s regulations in order to operate legally. The standards set by these various laws along with Facebook now give users numerous security options to ensure that their privacy is not violated or compromised. Facebook’s comprehensive privacy settings truly reflect the level of risk that exists in a global deployment of any social network site.