Privacy 2.0

Have you ever googled yourself? Are you surprised what you find? Are your social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram just a click away? Once we create a profile on a social media outlet and start sharing pictures, opinions or personal information, are our lives an open book?

Pew Research Center conducted a survey of teens to examine their privacy management on social media sites. “When asked whether they thought Facebook gives anyone else access to the information they share, one middle schooler wrote: ‘Anyone who isn’t friends with me cannot see anything about my profile except my name and gender.  I don’t believe that [Facebook] would do anything with my info.’ Other high schoolers shared similar sentiments, believing that Facebook would not or should not share their information” (Pew).  Even though this survey is a little dated, with this mentality more people are willing to post more intimate details about themselves such as where they live or their phones numbers.

Social media is built on the idea to share what we are doing with pictures, 140 characters or a status update. “All of this sharing may help create communities, but it also destroys privacy…Social media is not simply a collection of online places that allow private information to escape, but social media sites are organized to draw as much participation and information out of us as possible” (American Bar). Social media doesn’t give away our information, but in fact we do it to ourselves. We insist on posting to these apps to inform people about what we are doing constantly or gain followers, likes and retweets to feel popular and less insecure. We have the ability to control how much privacy we want.

 “On one level, many of us broadcast our own photos and videos, reveal our relationship statuses, religions and political preferences, and post our job histories. These kinds of personal details are widely shared – and released under our control” (Guardian).  We are willing to put the information online thinking we control the audience and everything is safe, but it’s the little things that can put us in danger. “However, there's another level of sharing when we become active participants, engaging with social media sites that encourage us to "check in" at various hotspots or connect with other users via our location. We give the power to watch and manage our information to someone else, and prove we're OK with that” (Guardian). When we are constantly allowing apps to use our direct location, this makes us vulnerable to “creepers” or easy targets into our lives without even realizing it.

John W. Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute pointed out that technology has become our worst enemy, “The very technology we hailed as revolutionary and liberating has become our prison, jailer, probation officer, Big Brother and Father Knows Best all rolled into one…Consider that on any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears. A byproduct of this new age in which we live, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency, whether the NSA or some other entity, is listening in and tracking your behavior” (Rutherford). Although this is not social media, this opened my eyes to see that we are always under a microscope at some given time. This is pretty insane, but we allow this and won’t do anything about it. 

I personally have all my account public because I don’t put anything online that I wouldn’t be afraid to show my parents. My dad was a little paranoid and concerned that when he googled me that all my accounts came up, but he trust me to be responsible with what I share. I am an advocate of public profiles because when it comes to jobs and how companies got through their application process, I’ve seen apps that request your social media account names. If you’re hesitant to give up your accounts to be checked then you should reconsider what you post. Corey Carvalho, associate director of the University of Massachusetts Student Legal Services Office, said the first thing he asks students preparing for jobs is, “Will you pass your Google interview?” (Recorder). As social media and technology become more important in the way we communicate with one another, it’s vital that you are honest with yourself and triple think if that is what you want your friends or even future employers to see and think of you. I am an advocate that social media is a positive tool for networking and not to keep information behind closed doors because if someone really wanted to know about you, they could find a way. I don’t believe privacy exist anymore.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/

http://www.recorder.com/news/townbytown/greenfield/11532943-95/nothing-you-put-on-social-media-is-private

https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/creepy_calculating_and_controlling_all_the_ways_big_brother_is_watchin

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/14/privacy-in-social-media-age