Blog: Privacy
Considering the fact that most social media sites sell our data and private information, it does not come as a shock that privacy is becoming a growing concern. While we may ask questions like, "what information is being traded?", "what information do companies retain?", and "How is it being used?", what its really comes down to is what we we put on the internet ourselves. While sites track our age, pages, interests, contacts, gender, shopping styles and so much more, we accept the personalization aspect that these algorithms using the information bring. We do not, on the other hand, get a say in who gets to use it. As we sign our rights away when we click the Terms & Agreements button, we need to consider that while we know our information is being sold, whether we actually have a choice in the matter with Web 2.0 taking over the corporate world. Having networks and means of communication is vital in the work place and in school now. So much so that not having social media seems to not even be an option.
In job applications, LinkedIn, resumes and other professional personal-information sharing requirements, we are very often asked to put our links down so that recruiters and find us to get a better idea of who we are. Things like hobbies, past employment and friends can all be found on these things. However, if one does not have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or social media account, then they don't have a profile to show a professional and therefor do not look like as good a candidate as others. Since you cant make an account without agreeing to the sites terms, we have no choice but to give up a certain level of our privacy.
So what choice does new media leave us then? Beside laws and information policies that government has passed up till this point, we have to regulate our own information the best we can. We have privacy settings that allow us to hide a portion of our profiles from strangers. We have our own self control in posting inappropriate things online. And we have alternate sites that do not buy and sell personal information. There are web browsers that do this as well. While these are all minimal solutions, until there is better policy regarding our rights as consumer in regards to privacy in new media all we can do is be vigilant, check ourselves, and take the necessary precautions.
Hi Maham!
ReplyDeleteI agree with so much of the things that you said. The reason that my parents never really let me use any type of social media is the privacy aspect. My dad always says that once you put something out there on the internet, it is impossible to get it back. We as a society need to become more aware of what we post. Since we are using these sites, we have basically given each platform the right to our information. This is something that many people do not know. Overall, great points!
-Allysia