People really need to be more careful about what they post on social media sites like Facebook and Myspace. Here's why. Many people think that once they post a comment or photo on a social networking site, it is private and visible only to their friends and family. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. What many consider private is actually open to the public and can be viewed by businesses, colleges and universities. Even if people think that their social media profile is private because of their privacy settings, they still need to be careful. Companies have laid off employees and colleges have chosen not to accept students because of their social media profiles. In today's world, people have become very comfortable with social networking sites. People will post comments online that they wouldn't say in person. The foul, crude and vulgar language that people post on their profiles has become costly. Posts went so far as to see people being fired from their jobs or colleges refusing to accept a student. The opposition would say that she has set privacy settings on her profile, which allows only those she wants to access her profile. Therefore, they don't have to worry about what they post because companies or colleges have no way to view their profile. The opposition's argument is not wrong, but it is not entirely correct either. Privacy settings are available to Facebook and Myspace users to allow them to limit what can be seen by the public. It is not possible to hide everything you may have on your profile. Danah Boyd, an anthropologist and social media expert at the University of California, Berkeley, argued that "information is not private because no one knows... middle of paper... that it is safe thanks to the privacy settings they have set. The answer is simple; Don't post anything rude, vulgar or illegal, that way people won't get in trouble with their work. Works Cited Edward C., Baig. "Facebook's changes to privacy settings are a major improvement." USA Today nd: Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Internet. November 3, 2010. Grove, Allen. “Facebook, MySpace and College Admissions – Make Facebook and MySpace Work in Your Favor.” College Admissions. Internet. October 17, 2010. Kabay, ME “Privacy Issues on Social Networking Sites.” Network World (2010). OneFile Academic. Internet. November 3, 2010. Melber, Ari. “About Facebook.” Nation 286.1 (2008): 22-24. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. Internet. November 3, 2010. “Nurse fired for off-duty Facebook post.” » Healthcare Risk Management, October 1, 2010. Academic OneFile. Internet. October 17. 2010.