Social networks: the privacy concerns of users

Half of Americans have a profile on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are concerned about their privacy, according to a new survey.

The Marist poll showed that people over 60 were most anxious about their privacy, and that women were more concerned than men in this regard.

"This is a new information age. Some people are concerned, they are reluctant and are frightened by the magnitude of information on the Internet. There is an element of privacy that some individuals feel they are losing," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College.

Privacy on social networking sites is a constant problem. Facebook recently changed their policies to give users more control over how much information is public profiles following protests from organizations of privacy control and users about the difficulty of changing the default settings of their accounts.

The survey showed that 27% of the 1,004 respondents were concerned about their privacy on the Internet pages of social networks, while just over 23% were very worried.

Older Americans are more concerned about privacy, as Miringoff, because social networks are not as directed at them naturally to the young, who show a more carefree attitude towards the Internet sites and privacy.

Overall, 43% of Americans said they kept in touch through the internet pages of social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn. 40% of men and 45% of women confirmed that they had a profile of any network.