Self awareness before social networking: Exploring the user behaviour and information security vulnerability in Malaysia

This paper investigates the necessity of being `self and socially' aware before and after joining the social networks (SNs), and identifies the impacts of having lack of awareness among the members of that networks. The study examines the current state of users' behaviour while they are active in the social networks particularly in the context of Malaysia, and finds out whether those users are aware of what they do in such social networks. The objectives of this paper are to explore why self awareness or social awareness is vital for the users of online social networks, and to clarify on how the lack of awareness may lead to the information security vulnerability. The methodology of this study mainly involves a quantitative survey method for data collection. The findings revealed that the users in the social networks are less aware of `what data and information they disclose over there' and `what the consequences are if they release the sensitive data and information in the social networks'. The discussions involve future attempts and some recommendations on the possible role of Government, NGOs, and Educational Institutions toward the issue of `self and social' awareness in the social networks.