In real life, one is cautious and vigilant in talking to strangers, especially in divulging personal information. In some instances when we are forced to talk to them, for instance, while waiting in line with a long queue ahead, we clam up immediately as soon as we perceive that the person we are talking to is becoming personal. At least I know I do.
Even if I know that Filipinos are intrinsically curious, I just give them a smile as an answer. If asked the same question for the second time by the same person, I just try to answer in a vague way and try to focus my attention somewhere else and away from that person. I believe others do this too.
In the social networking site that I use, I do not accept friendship requests from people I do not know. I do not even requests people I know but do not like to be my friends even just on-site. I do not post every activity that I do at present or I will do in the future. Every posting, if ever I am in the mood to do which is rare, already happened in the past. Nor do I post my personal numbers and information on site.
Now, why would other people divulge their personal life on a stranger? Is it because they feel safe and they feel that this stranger-friend cannot harm them as this stranger-friend is only on-line?
I clearly do not understand why certain people, especially female, would post their cell phone numbers in a social networking site where everybody can see it. These are usually coupled with photos of themselves in sexy outfits and bathing suits. Is it in line with their personal motive of attracting “friends” from the opposite sex? Or is it just being plain naïve?
If these came from tweens or teenagers, I will understand that they are still not that familiar or attuned with the realities of life. But pictures in the networking sites are already adults and look worldly to me. Surely, they are opening themselves up for criminals to prey on them.
I know of a lady DJ with a late night program in a radio station that talks to radio callers of which are ninety-nine percent men about their love problems. Her conversations with them are usually laden with sexual innuendoes. She even promotes her pictures in Facebook where she lolls around wearing a two-piece bathing suit. Add to this that she is pretty (in her Facebook profile), is tantamount to exposing herself to dangerous people and situations.
Why do people, mostly female again, fall “in love” with a “friend” on a social networking site not even knowing if the person they are conversing with and falling in love with is the same person. For all they know, they might be talking to a different person or even a group of persons posing as that friend. To top it all off, they even agree to meet each other in the physical realm with the girl meeting the boy alone.
Not that every meeting will result to unhappy or even tragic ending but if I were she, I will not have the courage to do it. Nor will I allow my loved ones to do it, too.
Just recently, a well-known director was stabbed seventeen times by another man who he met in Facebook, and whom he allowed to sleep in his house. Fortunately, the stabbings were not fatal as he was able to fight the “friend” and he survived the unfortunate incident.
Last year, a friend of my sister was tagged and received a nude photo of a male colleague. The lady friend was so livid with anger that she sent the photo to all her friends including the male colleague. However, the male colleague was insisting that he had no knowledge of how his nude photo was tagged to the lady friend. Besides, he was also shocked and almost petrified with embarrassment and anger that the lady friend did not confront him first before sending the nude photo to others. The lady friend did not believe him. But it is also possible that somebody hacked his computer and sent the photo to the lady friend. As a result, they fought using the network site with friends of both sides both ganging up the other camp.
Who have not heard of Twitter wars between celebrities and former lovers?
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