Take this lollipop

What do you think is the biggest lie people tell nowadays? We all do it, several times a day, never even thinking about it: I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.
In the “real” world, we panic when someone hands us a contract to sign, but online we do it without even glancing over it. We might think it’s not important or that the Internet doesn’t bound us to anything, that we are protected by anonymity, but do we think in the same way when we put our private information “out there” and foolishly expect no one to use it?

Social networking has integrated itself in our day-to-day lives and is as common as breakfast, lunch and dinner. But once in a while some brand new “discovery” hits us like a hammer and we start wondering – for a while – if our virtual social life could influence our real one.

One such eye-opener has been a simple Facebook App. Its name couldn’t be more obvious and revealing about its content: “Take this lollipop”. Its creator, Jason Zada, put it together as a Halloween project, unknowingly developing the fastest growing app on Facebook. What made 3.5 mil people use the app in just a week? It was as simple as a snowball effect.

The scary part of the application is that it features you, as an individual Facebook user. It shows a creepy man, in a basement, scrolling through your personal profile, looking at your pictures. He then types in your current city into Google Maps and drives to your house with your profile picture on his board. When he gets out of the car, a red lollipop appears with the name of one of your friends under it.

The video itself is a horror with no blood, screaming or shocking scenes. It’s just the part that you have someone you don’t want looking at your profile. And the fact that you’ve just agreed to share your information with the creators of the application makes that horror story a real possibility. 

The fact that this application has become the fast-growing one on Facebook supports its cause even further. It shows how easily people are convinced to share personal data online. If a friend told you about this awesome app, would you try it? What if they told you to go to a stranger on the street and give him pictures of yourself and details about your location, relationships and day-to-day updates? Well, it looks like the old saying “don’t take candy from strangers” doesn’t apply to the Internet even though the risks are the same.

The video was taken as an awakening of how scary social media really is: how Facebook’s security isn’t enough. However, Facebook did make changes in its privacy policies and gives you the opportunity of choosing whom you share your information with. But the app was intended to draw attention on the main use of Facebook: you are the one who puts your personal information out there; you are the one who clicks that button through which you agree to share your details. 

So the root of the horror story is simple: 

Are you reckless when you’re using social media? 

Are you as careful to strangers as you are in real life? 

Can you now see the dangers? 

What are you going to do about it?