Privacy, Online & Off

     Technology affects pretty much every aspect of the 21st century lifestyle. Transportation, healthcare, socialization, and even food are somehow effected by technology nowadays. It plays such a significant role that it's hard to even imagine a life without it. It was developed intended to benefit the world and its efficiency continues to improve. However, with every good side there is a bad. The innovation of technology has outpaced our privacy protections. Due to this, our digital footprint can be tracked and sold to the government regardless of our privacy preferences. After watching several Ted Talk videos offered to us, there is an immense amount of information regarding this issue. 

    A Ted Talk featuring Juan Enriquez compared our online life to a permanent tattoo. Tattoos are permanent, it's our choice to get them, and yet we still end up regretting them later. Online media is a  similar situation. Regardless of the privacy efforts we make online, there is always a way to get around it. Our information, especially our personal information is so valuable these days. Companies will have no problem selling it, that's how free business like Google make money. 

    Another Ted Talk featuring Cathrine Crump talks about how police departments were holding more than enough information on daily pedestrians. The cameras on highways were taking pictures of every single car that passed under it, not just cars that have done wrong. She compared this to the government using our online data. Trespassing our privacy wishes, the government is holding millions of data files on every one of us. 

    This news is incredibly unsettling to hear as someone who uses the internet daily, personally and for work. 

    I understand the idea the government has in keeping information for good reason, however I think it has crossed the line. There needs to be stronger privacy acts to protect our rights as citizens. We deserve to have the freedom of using the internet and new technology without the fear of being tracked. The government should implement and enforce stronger privacy practices for the safety of their people. Our information is being shared beyond our permission.

    As a user of technology, we can also take steps in the right direction to protect ourselves. Updating passwords regularly, stop oversharing on social media, and consider additional protection. Technology is not going away, it is only growing, which is why it is important to take personal action to protect ourselves. With technology, less is more. The less you use it, the less you post, the less chance you have of having your information exploited. 

    Although online privacy sounds impossible, there are small steps that can be taken which will lead to a greater outcome. We have to be careful and take more consideration of what we post online. No matter what is posted, archived, or deleted, there is always a way to get it back. You don't know who is watching and technology is only going to get stronger. As long as this information about our online privacy not being so private spreads enough, measures can be taken to protect us.