Technology And The World 's Privacy

Over the course of the past few decades, technology has been on a fast track to more advanced opportunities for communication. These developments have increased efficiency in society, however, it is evident that the basic values, such as privacy of personal information, are compromised significantly. Privacy is an essential element of a free society and without which, individuals would lose the ability to interact with one another in private. With the advancements of technology there is a clash between an individuals right to guard their personal information and the power of the cyber world to penetrate that information. Innovative technologies such as various forms of social media and surveillance are invading the freedom to said privacy.

As citizens of America we are all entitled to our rights of privacy. When something threatens this guaranteed privacy we tend to take extra precautions to prohibit prolonged violation. As the advancing world of technology continues to grow and expand, so do the amount of cases involving privacy invasion. Technology drives these privacy-invading crimes; however, crime also drives technology, creating a vicious cycle. Without technology an invader could not enter that of a stranger’s life. Conversely, without technology that same criminal would evade the law enforcers. So does technology protect citizens’ privacy, or does it expose one’s entire life? In regards to this question, one must

5 Ways You Give The Government Control” written by Kenneth Coats shows how the devices we use daily slowly take over individuals lives. Coats states, “Today, most people in the United States carry a mobile phone that accompanies them wherever they go. We use them for everything...This essentially makes them the perfect tracking and bugging devices”. Although electronic devices are known to be safe, they allow outside people to figure out individuals personal life. Due to the need for devices such as cell phones, each individual has a high chance of being socially stalked once in their lifetime. Coats then states, “Not only do intelligence agencies gather information via mobile companies, but… your phone can be hacked using spyware. Even if your phone is turned off, it can be remotely accessed to recorded conversations and take photographs”. This issue causes a panic due to the wide spread of inappropriate pictures and private conversations in one's life. Even though technology is viewed as a privileged, it is also taking away people's lives without their

Today, we can find tabloids and magazines on shelves of supermarkets or kiosks with pictures of celebrities or occasionally normal people who do not realize that they were photographed while they were in their home or enjoying their vacations. The motivation for those photographers who take those photos are probably the same which motivated Darwin Bonaparte to film John in the novel “Brave New World”. They aspire to be famous and wealthy. They are truly selfish, irresponsible and materialistic. Indeed, they gravely violate the right of those people to have privacy. For example, an article published in the USA Today mentions and presents different opinions about it,

Although technology has provided tools to enhance our capabilities in things such as finding a missing person, solving murder cases based on technological assets etc.., this technology also leaves us vulnerable in many ways to slowly losing our privacy (Burten, C., 2012).

Many of Bradbury’s concerns, such as privacy issues, have become a reality. Some communities have begun adopting a new form of technology which monitors people's electronics and "can also capture texts, calls, emails and other data, and prosecutors have received court approval to use it for such purposes" (Richtel). People are not given the information needed to understand how invasive this technology really is, causing many privacy concerns for people. In addition to authorities starting to invade your privacy, private corporations have also begun raising many privacy concerns. One smart television company told its customers to "be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party" (Newman). This invasion of people's privacy raised many concerns, and eventually became a reality when "when hackers demonstrated the ability to take over televisions with built-in cameras and microphones" (Newman). Even though the creators of this technology may not have meant for this to happen, this device has caused a great deal of both privacy concerns and even safety for some. As well as the privacy concerns it causes, technology has also begun to impair people's social skills. One person noticed "dozens of people riding the subway, deeply absorbed in their smartphones, oblivious to the world around them. They all seem much more comfortable interacting with their devices than with one another" (Wortham). Although some people believe their phones make them much more efficient workers and help with long distance communication, many can argue that the constant distractions because of the pings, notifications, and messages can prevent people from focusing in the task at hand and interacting with the world around the mall (Wortham).

In “Privacy under Attack,” the authors discuss some potential ways of how our privacy could be in danger or stolen by companies or accessible by administration and corporations. According to the authors, some ways that our privacy could be in danger are first through video records and picture taken by traffic cameras and surveillance cameras for us. Second through illegal “wiretaps” by the government that could hear our conversations. Third, our privacy and personal data could be “monitored by corporations through the role of club cards, raffles, or refunds that outside companies’ collection of data about us can then be sold without noticing, given consumers the optional to search for the box on any frame to indicate they don’t want their personal

In more recent years, the issue around Internet privacy is something that has been brought to everyone 's attention. In today 's society everything is based around social media and online shopping. By doing this people are making their information easily accessible for people to use. People document their whole lives on social media making it much easier for people to find information, that some may consider private, about them. When people post a picture with a location attached to it they think it 's harmless but there is a lack of privacy that is allowing people to get hold of information they don 't want out there. It has become much easier for people to get information due to the new technological advances that have been made in the recent years. Companies try to advertise to their customers through the Internet. They do this by personalizing their webpage to what they search, which violates privacy because they are tracking what customers search through cookies and data. Something as harmless as searching for baby clothes for your niece or nephew can turn in to your information being thrown out there and having these companies trying to reach you. Violation of privacy on the Internet is something we should accept because no matter what we try to do to keep our privacy people will always find a way around it. Stealing credit card information is as easy as bumping into someone. There are multiple ways people can defeat personal privacy and it is done through the use of

Technology has easily become one of the worlds most used and popular inventions. Especially in this time and for the young adults of today’s world. We use it in basically every aspect of our lives. At work, at home, at school, and probably most of all in our social lives technology is always around. There are websites for everything, cell phones that can DO anything, and other pieces of technology that aid us through our lives. Everywhere we turn there is technology. It’s hard to escape it. Items such as television 's, computers, cell phones, even the microwave and that electric tooth brush you use is technology. Even though technology has its many positive influences in everyday life, it also has its bad influences. One of the most controversial topics when it comes to the topic of technology is the invasion of our privacy. How can something that is supposed to make our lives so much easier, actually make it so much harder? With the levels of technology, we have today, along with the internet and all of which the internet consumes, our privacy is basically non-existent. In the novel, The Circle, written by Dave Eggers, it is evident that with the uprising of technology, it is nearly impossible to have privacy and it affects our daily lives. It is not often that you come across someone who doesn’t have a cell phone of computer and it apart of some type of social media program where they interact with people. While social media is not the only aspect of technology that

Jill Lepore the author of the article “The Prism: Privacy in the Age of Technology” examines the concept of privacy in a world that has changed significantly from the 1800s. Lepore asserts that an age of publicity was ushered into society due to the shift from a world shrouded in secrecy to one inundated with transparency. Regardless, there have always been cases where privacy has been violated.

Orwell’s 1984 brought up the idea that people hardly had privacy in the novel, but when you compare it to today's American technology the lack of privacy is closely becoming the exact same as 1984. In today's society no matter where you look someone is on their phone or on some type of electronic device, from walking on the sidewalk to watching people drive by using their phones. But what people do not know is the danger in not paying attention to what control your apps have on your phone. Not knowing that someone could hack your webcam and could be secretly watching you through your webcam to finding your location, or collecting personal information about you on your social media accounts.

While there is the potential of conversations being heard over cordless phones, what should be more troubling is the potential for conversations being heard over the baby monitor. While a cordless phone may capture only what can be transmitted through the mouth piece transmitter, a baby monitor has the capability to capture sounds in larger areas. As phone systems became less reliant on land lines, privacy issues have risen as to the expectations of privacy by law enforcement. Courts struggle with the issue of cell phone conversations and the expectancy of privacy especially with the wireless transmission process. (Sengupta, S. 2013)

Privacy! It’s an elementary principle we all value and fight to protect. However, with technological trends, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, our lives have now become accessible to all. These social media platforms have become part of our daily lives, from sharing personal information or activities to communal networking. The fascination to be trendy and acquire followers, is compromising our privacy principles and places us at significant risk. It’s remarkably easy to pretend that we control what personal information we share, however, realistically we leave technological trails every day we login to these apps, or browse the internet. For the most part, it seems that

The online world has recently changed from being able to make a phone call in privacy to having someone being able to hear your every word, without you even knowing. Our value of privacy has changed over the years as we have somewhat taken for granted the privacy we originally had. Some could even say that we have arrived back in the future in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’, with the lack of privacy that we currently possess.

Today, individuals are sacrificing privacy in order to feel safe. These sacrifices have made a significant impact on the current meaning of privacy, but may have greater consequences in the future. According to Debbie Kasper in her journal, “The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy,” privacy is a struggling dilemma in America. Kasper asks, “If it is gone, when did it disappear, and why?”(Kasper 69). Our past generation has experienced the baby boom, and the world today is witnessing a technological boom. Technology is growing at an exponential rate, thus making information easier to access and share than ever before. The rapid diminishing of privacy is leaving Americans desperate for change.