Do you have too much info online?

[974]

Sup people

So I've been reading articles about online privacy, and data brokers, and NSA spying and all that, and I was wondering, how much personal info online is too much?

And what would you consider personal info, as opposed to something like commenting on news articles or posting in some online forum? Or is that also personal info?

What do you think?

Also, if someone had a social media account would you recommend they delete it?

[CLD]

I would say that too much would be considered where you're carelessly putting details about your personal life over the Internet, whether in forums, social networking sites, etc. Unfortunately, even now your offline activities can be potentially be placed online as well, with the advent of concepts like storing medical information online (I'd say it would be a double-edged sword, as it can be used to save people and track people), online shopping (that information goes to banks and credit authorities) and more.

It will (generally) not be considered personal information as long as you don't put in stuff that clearly identifies YOU (real name, address, what stuff you did in the past, ID numbers, phone numbers, etc).

As far as the whole social media suggestion, it really depends on what you do with it - if you post some shady stuff that you shouldn't be doing - then it's obvious I don't even have to say it. In general, it's not bad to keep a social networking account - just watch what you say, as some things can come to bite you (especially if you're looking for a job, and if your potential employer decides to look up your social networking account, and finds something unsightly, that could cost your spot in getting that job).