The Privacy, Online and Off

One of society's biggest concerns with technology lies within the fact that it is become almost omnipotent. Whether it be in public, in your own home, or even when you go to order food, there are several technological processes at play that track and record information about you. And without the awareness of ability to know who is monitoring or where this information is going, there is more than enough reason to be concerned about some these facts. Many of the issues discussed in the ted talks made me think about some of the ways these technologies may have more power over my life than I thought they did, bringing a chilling awareness to some of the activities I go through on a daily basis.

One of the ted talks that stuck out to me especially was the one regarding digital tattoos. Knowing that information, photos, and even more that you may not be aware of will be available for centuries to come can be quite a scary fact to face. You would not know that you are committing to something this grand when first creating a twitter or Facebook account, as most social media users tend to think about the immediate rather than the future. In other words, what goes online stays online. Another phrase for this is digital permanence, a way to classify the aforementioned information. Corporations like Facebook have even perpetuated this notion, getting sued for billions of dollars after getting caught selling information to data brokers.

The other issue that the ted talks enlightened me on was government agencies trying to wiretap information through out phones. Due to many technological based organizations like Apple encrypted things like calls, emails, and texts however, many politicians are frustrated that they no longer have access to due to the possible threats that could be lurking. Even if you delete the text or information that you have sent, the issue does not settle there. If the government so desired, they could recover the data that you threw away, even if it comes at a price. The only way to truly get rid of some data, is to reach out to a professional or simply destroy the device. Although resorting to methods this extreme may seem odd, there is little much one can do to keep their digital dialogues hidden from those who desire them.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what the government should do about some of these issues, due to the fact that there is a danger of being completely ignorant to the digital information that revolves around the public. However, one thing they could work on is being more transparent with the public about what is actually going on, as well as do a better job at ensuring out information is not sold abroad or to corporations that do not have the right to use it. To protect ourselves from privacy invasions, I believe that we can do better at reading the terms we accept when we go to websites or acquire new technology. In addition, we should be more careful of giving our email and phone number when it is requested, especially by suspicious wifi securities or spam messages.