Social media - a personal anecdote

I got on the bandwagon that is now branded "Social media" quite early. In the beginning of 2005 I was invited by a friend to join Myspace.com. Back then every profile on Myspace was open publicly and no one I knew really talked or even cared about privacy on the internet. I shared pictures, interests, taste in music and so on without even a hint of hesitation.

When Facebook came along I made the switch and forgot about my account on Myspace.com. Several years years later some friends and I were searching for our names on the internet. The first thing that came up on the search engine was my Myspace account and my reaction was utter chock. How could this information be publicly available and one click away? I went on a crusade to clean up every unwanted trace of me on forums and social media.

I know that big companies like Facebook and Google have my whole life mapped out but I have chosen not to be bothered by it. Until they start to sell my personal information I wont change habits or take any action.

On second thought, how do I know that they aren't already doing this?