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The core feature of social networking, the ability to connect anywhere instantly also opens the door for its' biggest weakness: transparency that can lead to a lack of privacy and security. Individuals have the ability to post anything they want but they are also letting others into their lives. Many people have their personal information available for everyone to see. The default public settings on Facebook allow others to see your name, phone number, date of birth, and email address among other things. These four pieces of information provide a very large base for hackers to start on. Of course, hackers are not the only problem. Allowing the public access to your account can have negative impacts at work or in one’s personal life. Unflattering photos and comments can put a person in a negative light and can lead to reprimand or release from a job or criticism from family and friends. A recent study in the National Review claimed "10% of college admissions officers now acknowledged looking at social networking sites like Facebook when evaluating applicants, with negative consequences 40% of the time (Derbyshire, 2010)." Moreover, on many social networking sites, acquaintances' posts will show up on your own page and their opinion or comments can make you look bad. Individuals who use social networking increase the risk of having a problem in their personal and professional life because of the transparency and speed at which personal information can be broadcast.
As with any new technology, the risk of addiction is possible. Many people spend hours on various social network sites every day. From an individual perspective, spending too much time on social networking sites can cut into your time doing other daily activities. A study from Ohio State University has shown that students who use social networking sites have "significantly lower grade-point averages than those" who don't (Excessive Use of Facebook Linked to Low Grades, 2010). Moreover, many students who use their laptops in class check Facebook or similar sites instead of giving their full attention to the professor.
Businesses have to monitor the amount of time their employees spend on social networking sites. While social networking can bring employees closer and promote camaraderie, it has also been linked to lower employee workload output. In Great Britain, nearly 50% of businesses have banned social networking sites (Peacock, 2011). Companies also have to worry about what their employees post in terms of reputation. One negative comment by a single employee can turn viral and put a company in a precarious situation. In today's digital age, a business needs to take advantage of social networking but has to be cautious at the potential drawbacks.
The content that gets posted on many social networking sites also puts users and the owners of the site in a precarious position. This user generated content originally belongs to the user but many sites have terms in their end user license agreements that allow the site owners to use such content as they see fit and store it indefinitely. The sites with such agreements push the ethical boundaries of its users by opening the possibility that the users' content may become the sites' content. Moreover, the social networking sites put themselves in an interesting legal position as users could file claim that content is original and should solely belong to them if it is used by the site.