Social Media and anonymity ?

[weeksy]

Came up in conversation last night as i don't have an FB account and my Instagram account has no record of me being 'me' in terms of name etc.. So the old me from school doesn't exist unless you know me now from places like here.

Mrs Weeksy found it a bit weird.. I can kinda see why.

So do your accounts link to you fully ? or are you somewhat hidden ?

[Horse]

LinkedIn - yes, 'me'
Insta - yes
First Blogspot - yes
Second - no
Forums - no

[cheb]

I try to keep my real name out of things but there's probably enough info out there for anyone to identify me if they were minded to.

FB kept locking my accounts as I wouldn't provide them with all the info they wanted. Mildly annoying as I can't access the local buy, swap, sell group, but that's possibly a good thing.

[Felix]

Facebook is me but i dont put my life story up nor tell folk my every move. I know people who use a false name yet as they joined facebook years ago the URL has there real name in it. Folk try and hide yet post pictures up on what i think is flicker. If you click the picture to see the large image it tells you the persons name what tends to be the real name. Think some get a tad paranoid over this shit. I have a few alias accounts on facebook but they are only used when i get another facebook jail term

[MingtheMerciless]

FB is me, post a lot but I rarely mention work there as the zealousness of our Social Media and D&I Commissariat Zampolitniks would make even the most hardened SS Officer quiver in their boots.

I’m Ming on most platforms I use.

[Count Steer]

Linked-in was me when it was about jobs but haven't used it for years now. Not on FB and only on this and one other (anonymous) forum.

I'm sure that, once they'd linked stuff via email address, Google, smart watch data etc the powers-that-be could work out what I had for breakfast, when and where I had a dump and what my BMI is.

(And if they can do it......)

[Horse]

Think some get a tad paranoid over this shit.

Although worth remembering that, on Visordown, someone sent anonymous emails to Byker28i's employer. Caused him a lot of grief, he left the forum as a result.

[Taipan]

Shut down my LinkedIn a couple of years back as wont be going anywhere else now. Pretty active on Facebook, which has been wonderful to catch up with old school/mates etc, but I mainly recycle jokes from here on there and vice versa! I don't really share stuff about my working life. I try to keep my working life separate from real life. Most people don't know what I do and I cba to talk about it. I have insta and twitter/X accounts but mainly read stuff on there rather than post. A member of a few forums and am Taipan on all of them.

[Taipan]

Think some get a tad paranoid over this shit.

Although worth remembering that, on Visordown, someone sent anonymous emails to Byker28i's employer. Caused him a lot of grief, he left the forum as a result.

Nasty business that and he wasn't the only one. I got caught up in something back then. Still not sure what happened but I think someone reported me to the wrong, but associated employer. Trouble was we all use the same IT dept and are bound by the same policies. My Boss let slip my browsing history had been checked but no breach of policies was found. Didnt think much about it until the byker28i thing came up and a couple of others had been affected too which maybe think I had as well?

[MrLongbeard]

Facebook is me, but locked down
Insta, as above
Linkedin, that's me, but in name only, no other details on my profile

[Mr. Dazzle]

FB is me, but I've not updated anything in at least 5 years. I'm only still on there so I can very occasionally use the marketplace. LinkedIn is me, kinda pointless if it's not! No pics of me though and no info outside of work. That's it, I'm not on any other social media. I have an Insta account, but I've never uploaded any content, I only view.

It's babies and kids I find really weird! Baby D has zero internet presence, she's never been put online. Some of my friends have hundreds and hundreds of photos of their kids with loads of details you can see.

[gremlin]

My Only Fans is behind a pay wall.

[Rockburner]

It's probably not even worth pointing out that the whole concept of social media is a contradiction in terms to anonymity, they're two mutually exclusive things.

These days I seem to use facebook just to maintain a presence in the various one-make "groups" for the bikes, seeing as the FB groups seem to have taken over from forums like this one (which is a pain in the arse as so much information is lost on FB).

I do have an insta account, but only really so that I can see if the bloke who bought my Dad's HRD Vincent has made any progress with it, and I have a twitter account but only really to make customer service complaints, I don't think I've used for a couple of years though. I also have a Linked in, but again never use it (it does have real-life details, obvs).

I make point of "not" using the phone apps for any social media systems, just the websites, in the (probably false) hope that their information gathering can be reduced somewhat.

[v8-powered]

I'm on both Facebook and LinkedIn as me but don't share my whole life, like some. Getting really fed up with LinkedIn since FB took it over, mostly pics of heavily made up women pouting and stating how successful they are etc

I just use them and Insta as ways of keeping in touch and seeing what's going on in the world.

[Horse]

I have a twitter account but only really to make customer service complaints

I signed up to Twitter (now known as X, as the BBC and everyone else keeps pointing out, a year on ... Mutter mutter ... ) when the Vulcan was doing the farewell UK tour.

They were giving time/location updates.

Where we went there was almost no phone reception

[Felix]

Think some get a tad paranoid over this shit.

Although worth remembering that, on Visordown, someone sent anonymous emails to Byker28i's employer. Caused him a lot of grief, he left the forum as a result.

Not that Anonymous as BBO admitted it. Think "Well he fucking deserved it" was his words.

[DefTrap]

I try to keep things separate. FB is me and so is LinkedIn, everything else is me-but-not-me because of all the reasons already discussed, I don't need the hassle whether or not I 'deserve it' FFS.

The only time this degree of separation has caught me out is with Google Meeting. We use Teams for work but I got an external meeting request and joining would automatically bring up your google profile name if you were already logged in. At that time my google profile name was something slightly childishly and obscurely smutty, so I had to quickly rename it

[Sunny]

LinkedIn is me, but I use it purely for work and only connect with friends who have work-related jobs.

Facebook I changed my surname when I was applying for jobs back when recruiters were really into checking your socials, not that there was anything dodgy on it, but. I deactivated my account years ago, and only reactivated it recently when I was looking for a date something happened. I still don't use it but the stories are linked to my Instagram.

My Instagram accounts are not my real name.

Here is not my real name.

Twitter/X is not my real name, and is only used for similar reasons to RB.

All could be tracked down and linked via email addresses etc if somebody really wanted to, but as I haven't set up the Silk Road I doubt anybody would be interested enough.

Somebody different from VD tried to make trouble for t'other half at work. Failed. They're on here too. Delicate little flower.

[636mick]

Interesting read, I think I may have had the same issues back when I was AA, seem to recall a conversation with my then guvnor which left me confused. Didn’t think I’d really ever upset anyone that much on VD.

Anyhoo, FB account got shut down when I got divorced due to my ex causing me problems. Twitter account is not me, not on insta or any others. I’m old school where if I want to connect I pick up a phone or go see them.

I work for the government, social media has got a few staff in trouble over the years as we are not allowed an opinion and if we have one we can’t express it. Teams is the preferred media for keeping in touch but if you do wrong it still comes back and bites you, from personal experience.
I’m on my village FB page as someone else, which confuses some of the locals, which is nice!!
Mick. (Not my real name…..or is it?)

[DefTrap]

I'm a bit flabbered that so many of you seem to have been cyberstalked by malevolent psychos.