The Risky Tech Behavior Of Young Professionals [Infographic]

Before I get into all the ways that young professionals are apparently exhibiting risky tech behavior these days according to a Cisco study, I’d like to first say something in their defense. I don’t know exactly at what age someone is considered a “young professional,” but I do know that my generation is the first one that has been been truly mobile. To many of us, “going to work” is no longer associated with a traditional office, and we carry our offices with us wherever we go.

I know I take my office with me in a slate blue leather bag everywhere I go. It has my MacBook, iPhone, iPad, iPod, connectors, earpods, power cords, etc. I can plug-in anytime, anywhere (even in my car). Most young professionals I know are the same way, especially avid bloggers and those in sales. I guess what I’m saying is that risky tech behavior might be a symptom of our mobile lifestyle, not age.

When Cisco released it’s World Technology Report about 9 months ago, it raised a lot of eyebrows about how young people view tech today. For example, 2 in 5 University students say the Internet is more important than dating, 2 out of 3 young professionals would choose the Internet over a car, and 1 in 4 experienced some sort of identity theft before the age of 30 (yup, happened to me too).

The report was comprehensive, and there was a whole section about how young professionals handle device and password management, extreme Internet behavior and lost or stolen devices. BackgroundCheck.org took that particular part of the study, which they found most interesting, and compiled it into this infographic called Young Professionals & Risky Tech Behavior.

There are two things I want to say about this. First, learn from my mistake and never store your passwords on your laptop. Even though it’s a bit inconvenient to type them in each time, you’ll be glad you did if you accidentally leave your laptop somewhere or if it gets stolen. Secondly, never borrow someone’s smartphone. It’s true that it’s a risky behavior to borrow a stranger’s phone, but more importantly than that, it’s nasty. You know how dirty those things are, right? Borrowing a stranger’s smartphone is like wearing a stranger’s dirty underwear. Gross.