Pew recently released a report on the use of location based services. Here are the statistics:
- 28% of cell owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location—that works out to 23% of all adults.
- A much smaller number (5% of cell owners, equaling 4% of all adults) use their phones to check in to locations using geosocial services such as Foursquare or Gowalla. Smartphone owners are especially likely to use these services on their phones.
- 9% of internet users set up social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn so that their location is automatically included in their posts on those services. That works out to 7% of all adults.
What’s relevant about these numbers is that they show that location based services are used by very few people. This doesn’t surprise me, because I think most people are rightfully concerned about sharing their location publicly. These people understand that by doing so, they essentially are telling any would-be robber where they are. It defies common sense to use such sites because of the lack of privacy they bring about.
There’s already a lot of concern about privacy and location based services are part of that concern. What needs to be considered with social media is whether people will really use such services. At some point, especially with younger people, I could see more of them using a service such as foursquare, but it also depends on whether or not parents caution them about using such sites.
I advocate against using such sites, at least in terms of your personal activities. If you want to tell people where you’ll be, send them an email, or give them a phone call. Don’t advertise where you are to everyone out there. Not everyone needs to know and its wiser to take a cautious approach in your activities.
