Privacy, Online and Off

Everone willing posts personal information about themselves on the internet daily. We have consented to social media sites knowing our phone numbers and emails, and we are allowing people who follow us to see status updates, photos, and anything else we put on social media. Technology has become essential in our society, but people are not considering the consequences of technology that we did not consent to. Most people are unaware of how much information about them is on the internet.

First, things we come into contact with daily such as social media, cell phones, GPS systems, security cameras, credit cards/scores, and Wikipedia are all considered "electronic tattoos". Whether you know it or not, these types of technology are tracking information about you which is then available to anyone forever. There is currently no way to fully hide or delete the information being collected and stored on the internet. Where you go, what you do, and what you like, is being seen by companies, stores, criminals, police officers, etc because these "electronic tattoos" tell a story about you.

To the right is a screenshot that I took from Facebook that states the dangers of putting too much information on the internet. It discusses how "fun games" that people love to share can really be used by criminals to learn important pieces of information about you that are often used to answer security questions on your email, banking, etc. 

On the governmental level, law enforcement officers are able to track cell phones and license plates and all the data that is collected is kept for no reason. Even if you have a clean record and no suspicious activity, every piece of information that has been collected on you is being kept "just in case it might be needed someday". Additionally, wiretapping has become easier within the last 100 years. In fact, our cell phones are wired for surveillance first. At any given time, someone could be listening to our phone calls, whether it be our government, a foreign government, or a hacker.

When it comes to the internet, we have little-to-no privacy. But there are specific apps that can prevent people from listening to or seeing your conversations. For example, FaceTime, iMessage, and WhatsApp do not allow anyone to see or hear the things you discuss, not even the government. These are basically the only "safe" ways to communicate that will not allow surveillance or wiretapping. In today's society, it is better to take precautionary measures than risk having all your information readily available to anyone who searches for it.

https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_your_online_life_permanent_as_a_tattoo 

https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_crump_the_small_and_surprisingly_dangerous_detail_the_police_track_about_you?language=en 

https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_how_to_avoid_surveillance_with_the_phone_in_your_pocket#t-4440