3. Phone numbers; A female friend of mine was awakened by a strangers call at 2 a.m, his excuse they belonged to a group and they were to handle some research for the group.
4. Facebook and Twitter are now also the gossip and rumour capitals of the world, Be careful what you believe and pass on!
5. Computer hackers and Identity thieves; the senior 419ers are having a field day, with every new advancement in technology. Ebay and Craigslist have suffered too many cases. We give so many details in our profiles and posts; We are lucky in Nigeria our criminals are still carrying guns and cutlasses to steal(if that can be called luck)otherwise imagine you giving all sorts of information about yourself and where you live and then one day you post,” On our way from Kano we are all going to Kontagora for my sisters wedding till next week. Now in Zaria your prayers are needed please. The combination of data could be dangerous.
6. Tracking; are you trying to avoid someone or keep them at arms length? A former lover, debt recovery agent? Then be careful what you post and who sees it. That announcement that your wife had a one in town birthday on Saturday and the Owambe had King Sunny Ade was the first musician to play will not only interest your landlord, your manager or supervisor and that nephew you promised to send for when you got settled in Lagos. Keep posting o! But he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. My hand no dey!
7. Interactions: To avoid HIV?AIDS an advert says zip up, well the same applies to social media being loose and carefree assuming its only online is a great mistake. Online relationships tend to be more intense due to the elements of mystery and fantasy which entices people to fall more into relationships good or bad.
8. The number of friends one has may be a sign of popularity but it also opens one up to lack of privacy. Imagine a situation where Kemi has 3000 friends; without any privacy settings all of those friends would see Kemis posts,wall or timeline and updates. If kemi out of the 3000 has 1000 friends that each have at least 1000 friends and kemis posts appear on her friends walls…...
If Kemi is a politician campaign don start be dat.
9. There are many psychopaths out there in the world you don’t want to meet. With the anonymity guaranteed by cyber interactions you cant know who has been taking their medications or not. In Nigeria the psychos are not on medication so you don’t know who you are letting into your life be careful what info you divulge. A friend of mine had to change their Fb name and cancel their account because of a stalker.
10. Dupes and frauds; its hard enough vouching for the character of your childhood friends and colleagues. Social media comes with no affidavit of good character for anyone. Your new bosom friend (just like it happens in the physical world) may be a murderer, rapist, ritualist or even terrorist. My hand no dey if SSS or JTF lands at your door after going through someone’s phone or internet activity and finds you are the highest supporter of a mad mans ranting or extremism.
11. The time factor; spending countless hours on social media can best be redirected for other important things unless you’re marketing. The world is filled with all kinds of people good and bad. Social media keeps one well occupied but just don’t let your cyber friendships be at the detriment of your physical day to day relationships, your job or studies.
12. If you are in a weak, vulnerable state, have relationship problems in your normal life and have commitments a cyber relationship is not an escape route. Sort out your problems and resist temptation. Temptation carries on the airwaves abi cyber waves
Change your settings for different posts and categorize your friends and who sees what. All 12 points can apply to men and women on the virtual and physical level. The cyber world is here to stay and improves daily all we need to do is be careful in all our dealings and account settings.
