Privacy?

Is Our Private Life Really Private?

By: Maddy Bullion

     Technology

    We have all heard the phrase, "Technology is both our savior and our doom". But never have I thought too deeply about it. Not until I was informed about how truly dangerous and scary it is. After watching some Ted Talks about technology and how it is used to invade our individual privacy, I kept thinking about how terrifying this truly was. Not only is it affecting random people out there, but this is something that is affecting each and every one of us. 

    I think about my little sisters and their friends who are in elementary school. How they are growing up in the age of technology and how dangerous that is for little girls. One wrong move from them can lead to their whole future being ruined or drastically changed. 

    I think about all the little kids who have already been affected by this, I mean in the Ted Talk with Darieth Chisolm, it's mentioned how 1 in 25 women have been affected by digital domestic violence and there are no laws to help them against it. This is unsettling information, especially for a young woman like myself who uses technology every day.

The Government's Involvement

    As I mentioned before, the government is doing nothing to protect us from our invasion of privacy through technology and social media. No laws, regulations, or punishments against this. In fact, we even learned how the government is also using technology to keep track of where we are all going and what we do on a daily basis from the Ted Talk with Christopher Soghoian.

    Instead of using technology against us and stalking our every move, the government should be protecting its citizens. Creating laws and punishments so that we feel secure and safe. Will this happen though? Most definitely not, this is helping the government so they won't change a single thing about it.

What Should We Do?

    While the government isn't protecting us, we can protect ourselves. Being careful of what we share online publicly is a great start. Using specific sites that can protect our privacy is another piece of advice that Soghoian shared in his Ted talk. 

Also being careful of who to trust with private photos or pieces of information. And remember, what you post online will forever be there somewhere, even if you delete it off your page, we learned from Juan Enriquez that it will still remain out there.