Go.Verizon Social Privacy Survey Report 2022

Friday, 11 November, 2022

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81% of people are more concerned about their social privacy than the year prior. 53% create unique passwords for each of their social media accounts. 69% have deleted or thought of deleting a social media account because of recent social media data breaches. People are taking steps to protect their personal information from being hacked or leaking to the public. 

With Data Privacy Day on January 28th, the people at Go.Verizon used Pollfish to survey 1,000 Americans, asking what Americans think about their privacy on social media, the use of their data, and which platform they are most private on. This is what we found.

Private vs. Public Accounts

Facebook has been around for nearly two decades, and it shows. With almost 3 billion users worldwide as of 2021, Facebook is now the largest global social media platform. No wonder more people are more private on Facebook than any other social network, according to our latest survey results. Even with TikTok’s questionable information-gathering practices, people are far more “lax” on privacy on the video-sharing app. 

Why do Americans sometimes go with a public account rather than a safer private account? Some don’t mind sharing their personal information for their friends, family, and others to see, while 42% of those surveyed want to become influencers on social media.

Private vs. Public

Privacy Concerns

According to our survey, most Americans keep up to date with social media data breaches. With Facebook’s and LinkedIn’s 2021 data hacks that exposed millions of people’s personal information, it’s no surprise that 81% of those we surveyed are at least somewhat concerned about their privacy on social media. Seemingly because of this, 79% of those we surveyed said they checked their advanced privacy settings when they first joined a social media platform with another 62% checking these same settings in the past year.

Privacy Concerns

Password Health

These massive breaches of privacy are concerning, and some may feel like nothing can be done about them. Fortunately, people know about the common password resources, with 62% of people using two- or three-factor authentication and 46% regularly changing their password. Another 53% of the people we surveyed said they have unique passwords for each of their accounts, so if they get hacked, it only affects one account and not all of their accounts at once.

Passworld Health

Social Spams and Hacks

Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But when it comes to personal or business social accounts, it can be highly frustrating. Half of our respondents said a fake account imitated their personal or business social accounts. Another 58% said their personal or business accounts were hacked. These hackers aren’t just looking for a joyride on your account, either. There have been reports that scammers are using fake accounts or hacking into your account to make money using a cryptocurrency scam.

Spams and Hacks

“Finstas” and “FikFok”

Then there are those with separate private or “fake” social accounts for close friends. While your “regular” social account may include the best moments of your life, a Finsta or FikFok would show more personal, funny, embarrassing moments. Some save their most private details for these accounts. Surprisingly enough, more than half of our respondents have a fake social account, but it’s to keep more personal things private amongst their closest compadres.

Finsta, FikFok

Data Monetization

When social companies monetize your data, they’re not necessarily selling your data for money. Most of the time, they’re using the data you’ve willingly shared to send you specific ads and posts that may interest you, which in turn, make them advertising money. Still, 90% of people are at least somewhat concerned that these companies make money off of their information. While some feel it’s an invasion of privacy, others wish they had a slice of the pie. Their logic: if social companies are making money off of their data, then these same social companies should compensate the individual for it. 14% of people don’t mind data monetization, saying it’s a fair trade—free social account in exchange for personal information.

Data Monetization

Social Privacy is Ultimately in Your Hands

People are concerned about their social privacy, from data monetization to potential hacks and spam. There are tools to keep your social accounts safe and private, including two- and three-step authentication and random auto-generated passwords. Some have turned to making fake social accounts to keep their most private information for a select few. Wherever you land on this spectrum, it’s safe to say that your social account is a massive pool of personal information, and you can control how much is shared. Public or private, social media or no social media—it’s all up to you.

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Where to fly your drone safely

Monday, 31 October, 2022

The world of technology has taken great strides over the years, but who would have thought we’d have flying robots? Drones, formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have many uses for commercial entities, governments, and individuals. From capturing film for YouTube videos to taking photos for digital publications, drones are revolutionizing our lives for the better.

Drones have designated fly zones and laws that vary from state to state. Violating those drone laws could earn you a hefty fine. As drone enthusiasts, we sought to find out the best states for flying drones (aka the states with the most permissive drone laws). 

To start, we looked at current state-level drone laws for all 50 states and placed them into 12 categories. We then ranked the states based on the categories they had laws referencing. After examining the results of our online search, we uncovered some pretty serious drone laws and laws that were so wacky they were hard to believe!

We’ve compiled our findings into a helpful guide for drone hobbyists, so you can easily record video footage for your YouTube channel in approved fly zones.

State by State

Laws relating to where you can fly your drone vary from state to state. For example, Nevada drone laws may look different from California drone laws. We found the states that are most strict to most lax when creating laws around drone flying.

Drone law map_ strictest to least strict

Drone Laws_different laws in each state

Interesting Findings

During our research, we found that three states, Alabama, Missouri, and South Carolina, had no state-level drone laws, while Oregon, Texas, and Utah all had laws for six categories. Surprisingly, New Jersey was the only state with a law related to operating drones while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Minnesota was the only state that required drone insurance.

With 24 states enacting this law, the most common category was regulating how close drones can get to certain buildings or people. Those 24 states mentioned correctional facilities most often.

Fly your drone correctly

The world of unmanned aerial vehicles is a growing one. As drone technology evolves, the laws that accompany them will also adapt. Wherever you may be located, use this guide as a reference to identify approved drone zones for safe flying. 

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Black Films Matter—The Most Searched Films with Strong Black Leads in Each State

Wednesday, 7 July, 2021

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that representation matters. Our society continues to work towards a more just system where people of color can feel safe and welcomed in any and every scenario. This has bled over to the entertainment industry, with more films showing representation across all backgrounds, ethnicities, and people.

As many across the country celebrate Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, we here at Go.Verizon.com take a closer look at some of the most searched films with a strong black lead in every state, not only the 10 states in which Verizon internet service is available. Black Panther, The Hate U Give, and Moonlight are just some of the recent popular films that have gotten people curious about the black experience.

Each State's Most Searched Film with a strong black lead

Each State's Most Searched Film with a strong black lead

Interesting Findings

 

  • Wakanda forever — Black Panther was by far the most searched movie with a black lead, with 17 states looking for a way into Wakanda. After his unexpected death, people sought out Chadwick Boseman’s work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in an additional two states.
  • Searching the Sunken Place — 12 states searched the most for the acclaimed horror film Get Out. The award-winning film took a closer look at the racially motivated anxiety black people feel in a predominantly white society.
  • An excellent book adaptation — The Hate U Give was a best-selling book before it became an award-winning film. No wonder seven states had this movie in their crosshairs, especially after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Though released in 2018, this movie was timely in 2020, tackling racism and police brutality during a time of civil unrest.
  • Black animation celebration — The only two animated films on this list are also award-winning films in their own right. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Soul both garnered high search volume in two states each, featuring black leads Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) and Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), respectively.
  • Don’t sleep on Moonlight While only Rhode Island searched in the most, Moonlight (2016) is still regarded as one of the best films of the decade, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017,wat even if the award show botched the announcement. It also sits with the highest Metascore across all the listed films with a 99 out of 100.

Methodology

We looked at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) to find the most popular movies with a black lead released in the past five years. When choosing movies, we looked at feature films released between January 1, 2015, through today. We only looked at movies with a user rating between 7 and 10 and a rating count of at least 10,000 in the United States (Sorted by Popularity Ascending).

After we got all the films that met our criteria, we sorted them by the Metascore (a weighted average of many reviews coming from reputable critics; the Metacritic team reads the reviews and assigns each a 0–100 score, which is then given a weight, mainly based on the review’s quality and source) to get our top 9 films. We then used Google Trends to determine which states searched the films most over the past 12 months.

About Go.Verizon.com: Go.Verizon.com is an authorized premium partner of Verizon. Reporters may send questions to media@verizon-business.com.

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