The Hazards of Social Networks
It is commonly believed that putting something on the internet will not matter, or that it can be erased and forgotten. Sharing something with your friends online does not mean that other people will not see it. Most are unaware of the dangers they can face in the long run such as posting pictures and personal information, as well as making it easier for predators to find them. Young Americans do share too much information on social networks.
The most popular way that people share too much information on social networks is by posting pictures. They don't know that pictures can say a lot about a person. One way that they can put themselves in danger is by posting pictures on social networks like facebook and instagram. Other people can screenshot these pictures and change them. They can make a person look bad. Next, people will know who you are if you have pictures of yourself online. Sometimes they can find you, they know where you are (from the background of the picture.) If you post pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want your parents to see, do not put them online. There are kids who can use these to your disadvantage and use the pictures to make fun of you. On the extreme side, they could bully you by using these photos. Critics may say that we can not prevent cyber bullying from happening, but they have probably not considered letting people know how they can affect a persons life in such a negative way. According to scholastic.com/scope, fifty-three percent of kids have admitted to being mean to someone online. Most young Americans are not aware that picking on someone repeatedly can cause them to commit suicide. An example of someone committing suicide because of bullying occurred just across the river from where I live. A girl was being cyber bullied, so she told a teacher; they did nothing about it, and so she eventually committed suicide.
Another reason why I believe that people are sharing too much is because they give out personal information without even realizing it. Did you know that people can find anything about you with just one piece of information? There are ways to find an address by having a phone number or anything else. Giving out things such as your name, address, phone number, or social security number to strangers could end with a criminal stalking you. Often, people online act like you friends, when really, they are bad people. They can lie to you, or hurt you. It is scary to realize that criminals can know anything and everything about you. Opponents feel that it is too late to stop predators from getting your personal information, because it is already out there and you can not take it back; they are wrong. A way to prevent this, is by going back into your profile, and deleting any information that is not required and putting only the initial of your last name. Also, by not posting anything that tells people about your personal life you can prevent predators from stalking you.
Finally, people are sharing too much information on social networks, according to CEOP.org, because of the stories on the news, where a criminal or someone else, faked their identity on a social network, making up lies about who they were. Their victims did not realize these lies, until it was too late. Some of the things these criminals will do are blackmail you, follow you, hurt you, or hack into your computer, or bank accounts.
Some may argue we can't stop bad things from happening or that it is too late to stop teenagers from posting too much, but there is one weakness in this idea. One way that you can solve this problem is by not accepting stranger's friend requests and frequently turning on your privacy setting. So next time, think before you post—because someday, the world way see it.

Young Americans really do share too much information on social networks. So remember, next time you want to post something on online networks—sharing something with your friends online is like agreeing to get a ride with a stranger.