Study: Older Social-Network Users Overshare

Older social-network users are more likely to over-share online, according to a recent study — a vulnerability that could be exploited by criminals on the prowl for personal information.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the study, commissioned by the identity-theft division of the credit-scoring company Experian, indicates that 14 percent of this age group list their full home addresses on their profiles. The proportion rises to 20 percent when just the 60-and-older crowd is counted.


Facebook itself has been criticized for not respecting user privacy, famously adjusting its user terms to allow more details of its 350 million users to become public knowledge. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the changes.

As Experian points out in its study, the risk of web over-exposure isn’t limited to identity-related crimes. If the user goes on a trip and posts updates from the destination, anyone with access to the profile will know “no one is watching the house,” said Jennifer Leuer, general manager of Experian’s ProtectMyID.com. “You obviously don't want everybody on the Web to be able to see that.”

The study, which took a sampling of 1,052 men and women and covered social networks in general and didn’t focus on Facebook in particular, found that 35 percent of its respondents did not adjust their privacy settings to limit who could view their profiles or status updates, Leuer said.


Some info you post may not seem like much of a risk on the surface — for instance, the simple knowledge of your hometown isn’t enough for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name — but a savvy criminal may look to the Web to find missing pieces of the formula needed to commit identity-related crimes. A criminal can use information gleaned from social networking sites to form a picture of who you are, where you shop, and who your family is. This data can be useful in actually taking over online accounts—people of all ages sometimes lean on the names of relatives, wives and pets too much when crafting password names.

It’s never a mistake to play your cards close to the vest online.  A little mystery is a good thing, and it can go a long way in helping you shore up your identity.  And of course: Never post your full birth date online — preferably don’t post it at all — and never post your Social Security number, financial information or passwords.