Managing your online reputation

A new survey suggests that more adults are actively monitoring what is being said and posted about themselves online and are taking more steps to protect their privacy.

The findings come in a report from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The survey was carried out last August and September, before the current uproar over Facebook's privacy policies and the controversy over Google's Buzz social networking program.

Awareness and concern about privacy is especially high among younger users of social networking sites, with 71 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds having changed their privacy settings to limit what they share online. "Contrary to common assumptions, young adults are, in many ways, the most active managers of their online reputations," said Mary Madden, Pew senior research specialist. "Those who know more, worry more."

The report notes that there is a lot to be concerned about these days, far more than when Pew last looked at online reputation management back in 2006. There are comments and photos on Facebook and other social networks; messages on Twitter, which is now publicly searchable; work-related thoughts on sites like LinkedIn; and maybe personal information on dating sites and other public online platforms that is often hard to erase.

Distrust of social networks is also rising among younger users. When asked how much of the time they can trust sites like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, 28 percent of users aged 18 to 29 said "never". The trust factor was higher among older adults but that mostly reflected the lower volume of online content posted by those individuals.

When it comes to monitoring your online reputation, it's not just a case of covering your own tracks. 47 percent of social networking site users aged 18 to 29 say they have deleted comments that others have made. And 41% have removed their names from photos that were "tagged" or identified by someone else.

"Even if you're not a social media user yourself, that doesn't mean you don't have a presence on those networks," says Madden. "Photos, videos and comments about you may circulate with or without your involvement."

Other findings of the Pew report include:

• More than half of social network users (56%) have "unfriended" people in their network.
• 32% of college graduates say they work for companies that have rules about how employees present themselves on the Internet.
• 44% of employed Internet users say that details about who they work for are posted online.
• One in three Internet users say their birth date is available online for others to see. Pew points out that this can be a critical piece of information for potential identity thieves.
• 19 percent of Internet users have searched for information about neighbors and people in their community.

The Pew survey didn't cover under-18s, the online demographic that is perhaps most active – and most vulnerable – when it comes to posting personal information online. However, it's encouraging that younger adults appear to be leading the way in safeguarding privacy. Hopefully, it's an approach that will filter down to teens and even younger users with the help and support of parents.

Do you actively monitor your online reputation? What are some of the surprising things you have found? Share your thoughts with The Online Mom!