Social security Published March 28, 2014 By Airman 1st Class Marie Marasigan 325th Fighter Wing Judge Advocate TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Social Networking is a popular way to communicate with others, voice opinions and document our day-to-day activities. Even though we are given guidelines on "what not to do" in an online environment, it is easy to overlook the reasons why they are given to us. The display of personal information such as announcing a deployed location can be dangerous to us and the mission. It can tell the world that you are not home and potentially release classified information related to the deployment. Recently, photographs of service members acting disrespectfully, in and out of uniform, have become a trend. It is important to remember where your allegiance lies; whether you are on or off-duty. We all represent the same Air Force, and in order to keep our image in good standing we need to think before we post. Social networking is not all bad. There are groups created to get people involved in positive ways. Tyndall has been using social networking to reach out to local Airmen and their families and keep Airmen up-to-date on the latest base accomplishments and news. As service members, it is our duty to be respectful in the online community. The best way to avoid stepping on anyone's toes is to avoid posting anything we would be afraid to say in front of our chain of command. If we focus on promoting the positive aspects of social networking, eventually the negative view will begin to fade. Remember that guidelines are given to us for a reason.