What is really private?

There has recently been much debate over what is private on the Internet and what exactly we should be trying to keep private. I think about this a lot when it comes to social media. I keep most of my accounts on the private setting but does this really do very much to protect myself on the Internet? I took to Google ironically enough to test this out. I Google'd myself and found that you could find so many of my private accounts. There is my twitter, instagram, facebook, pintrest, almost every social media account I use! I remember when there was a time that I didn't have my Instagram private and my mentality was that " Well I'm not posting anything bad so I have nothing to hide" then my friend told me one day about how many young girls were being stalked and kidnapped or sold into sex slavery strictly on having their social media, specifically Instagram public. Dangerous people could potentially look at your tagged locations, your friends, your school, and find out where you hang out. That's when I decided that it wasn't about being cool and not hiding anything it was more about being more private, and potentially safer. Now let me clear that just because your accounts are private that means anything. There are potentially dangerous people out there and they have all sorts of ways to find you and take advantage of you. So next time you post on social media don't just think about the drunken pictures from last night that you don't want your employer to see but also think about your location, your friends, and putting out all of that personal information. You never know who is on the other end.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!!! Are your accounts private, and if they are why? If they aren't is there a reason I should make mine public again, I'm curious let me know!