Social media can be a great way for people to connect and share the great moments of their lives with their friends and family. However, some experts say that sharing too much can make someone an easy target for breaches in privacy and security.
Adam Levin is a former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and author of the book "Swiped." He says that too often people share information that they shouldn't, like full birthdates and phone numbers.
"For whatever reason, people have this unquenchable thirst to share every tiny aspect of their lives," he says.
He adds, "When you go on vacation, you don't need to tell [people] when you're leaving, how long you're going to be gone and where you're staying. Because one thing is for sure: When you tell people where you are, they have a pretty good idea where you're not."
Levin says that to protect oneself on social media, there are a few things to remember. Do not reveal a full address, birthday or phone number. Also, it is important to turn off the locations on phones and photos, because it can let people know exactly where one lives.
He also says that it is important to use strong passwords for accounts and smartphones. Levin says that using names and birthdates for passwords isn't ideal, because people could figure those out by looking at social media feeds.
Levin says that bottom line, the best way to protect oneself is to limit and control how much information is given out.