THE CONSTANT BARRAGE of headlines about Facebook and
its inability to respect the privacy needs of its users is contributing
to making them much more wary of sharing information online.
Ofcom research shows that 80 per cent of UK adults with a social
notworking profile are now more likely to allow only their friends or
family to see it, compared to 48 per cent in 2007.
Although people now know more about the threat of sharing their
personal data online, around a quarter of users are unsure about
installing filtering software and security features.
The Media Literacy report showw that Scots are happy go lucky about
sharing their personal data, with 50 per cent happy to enter their home
address on the net, double those in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Half of all adults think that television and radio content is
reliable and accurate, while only three in ten think the same about web
content.
But perhaps understandably, due to the bias of some TV channels, they
trust news websites more than TV news, while radio news trump them
both.
The research does have some good things to say about the Internet and
social networks. It says that 73 per cent used the Internet in 2009, up
from 63 per cent in 2007.
And half of all users say that using the Internet increased their
contact with friends or family who live further way, while around a
quarter say it increased contact with friends who live nearby.