The Loss of Privacy in our Technology A young man enjoys playing the latest new “flying bird” app for his smartphone and his excitement to download the app overwhelms his brain’s caution. He automatically says yes to everything the app requests for permission without reading what these conditions are before he downloads the game. Now that his caution has been blown to the wind and the game is downloading and the data mining begins. Caches of data, large files of information, are being read, copied, and transmitted to a website online where they archive and store the data to be sold later. This unsuspecting young man is having every move he makes tracked by an online source for their profit. People all over the world who fail to proceed with caution when using new technology or downloading their favorite apps has lost all rights to their information and privacy with no legislation to protect them from this invasion. A precise accounting of the internet’s wide expanse is beyond the capabilities of anyone to render, but to give some insight into the internet and the data transferred a rough estimate can be determined by very simple internet searches which are also highly likely to be watched and recorded. When searching for the amount of data transferred in a single day you will find that about six hundred and forty terabytes of data are sent over the internet by one third of the world population. The world population is currently around seven point two billion people and a
Technology has been advancing since before humans created the term advancement. Furthering technology was once needed for human survival, such as with the creation of fire and tools. Nowadays, the development of scientific knowledge seems to be based on desire rather than necessity. This threatens to create many problems, such as losing privacy that was once nonexistent and being overthrown by sentient AI’s that weren’t even a possibility 100 years ago. People are forced to decide whether or not the extra technology is worth the consequences that come with it. The loss of privacy and people being able to hack into important information has a greater impact on most than machines with artificial intelligence.
While interpreting Should We Ditch the Idea of Privacy? by Don Tapscott, I had found that this article was my favorite. When it comes to choosing is one should stay private or keep their information public, I feel like that is up to that individual one hundred percent. In Should We Ditch the Idea of Privacy? Tapscott went over how many people should be more open and post more information on the internet to allow others to get a sense of what is going on. He believed Facebook is a “leading social-media site that promotes information sharing” making everyone’s life an open book for everyone to read and learn from. Additionally, to help is one is struggling with any mental health issues. Tapscott believes that by sharing personal information can
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,
With the seemingly exponential propagation of inexpensive digital communications technologies over recent years, the general public is becoming more aware of the issues surrounding information privacy and government surveillance in the digital age. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a smart-phone has to be wary of how they use their private information for fear of that information being collected and used in a way contrary to their wishes. "Leaky" smartphone apps that transmit private information across the internet can be unethically used by government agencies. The issue of privacy is a balancing act; the public usually wants increased privacy and the government usually wants increased access.
Imagine, that you come back from a hard day’s work. You put on your favorite grey sweats with a cozy sweater. Soon after, you get a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Then you lean back on the sofa, turn on the television and change the channel to the local news. Breaking news with bright red letters are plastered across the screen. The news anchor goes on explaining that an employee at the local hospital accidentally donated data of patients. This means that patient’s social security numbers, addresses, medical records, and other personal information, were given away without patients’ permission or consent. At that moment you realize that all your personal information is out there for everyone to see and use; and there is nothing you can do about it. The collection of personal information is called data mining, and is collected through large online databases. The real question is that data mining violating our privacy and rights? Why are companies still collecting our personal information without our consent and how can we protect ourselves from breaches? Data mining should be limited in the United States and needs to undergo more appropriate privacy and security policies to protect citizens privacy.
The article called, The End of Privacy by Adam L. Penenberg, demonstrates the easy access an intruder can have to someone’s private information in today’s digital world with just a few taps on the keyboard, and a phone. Making your private information unprotected and defenseless. Penenberg also describes transition from mainframe computers to desktop PCs making private information vulnerable. He also reveals that marketers and busybodies have more customer data than ever. He also illustrates the advances of search methods that cyber criminals have up their sleeve, how the misrepresent themselves in order to puncture through the credit bureaus, and the Federal reserve database, spilling out all of your financial information, social security,
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.
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
How many apps have you used today, or how many websites have you visited? The answer is probably very many, some even without your knowledge. Behind the pixels of your phone or personal computer’s screen, thousands of bytes of data are being transmitted. Most of that data is what you’d expect: e-mail, texting, weather, games, and so on. Unfortunately there has been a growing problem over the last several years, and it’s not one that is obvious to the average internet user. Some of that sent data contains information which isn’t necessary, oftentimes it’s personal data. Your browsing habits, favorite games, most listened to music genres are being shared to advertising agencies for profit. Privacy is quickly vanishing from the internet and
With social media growing there seems to be a lack of privacy. Everyone posts where they are and what they are doing and then everyone that follows reads the post and knows that is happening like they are there in person. In “Should We Ditch the Idea of Privacy” by Don Tapscott mentions the author of Whole Earth Catalog, Stewart Brand, who said “I’d be totally happy if my personal DNA mapping was published” (Tapscott 118). It is mind blowing how open many people are on social media. By, metaphorically, releasing one’s DNA mapping anyone has complete access to creating a clone. Unless someone has a couple thousand dollars laying around ones DNA mapping is far fetch, however by posting the street one lives on, on a public site is just as bad.
Civil liberties is a term coined by the United States that guarantees certain rights to the people by the Bill of Rights. Although the Right to Privacy is not officially enumerated into the Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled that citizens do in fact, have the right to their own privacy in their own home and their own beliefs. Privacy rights are an essential part of everyday American lives, in that everyone should be given the right to do whatever they want to do in privacy without anyone judging them or knowing what they have done. The right to privacy can also be considered jeopardizing to society because if someone is doing everything privately, including planning some sort of abomination or
We have all experienced it. The tingles down your spine while your sixth sense picks up someone’s harsh eyes scanning you. You are being watched. As the little hairs stand up on your neck and the chill of judgment floods your body, you choke on the insecurity that comes over you. Some break out in a nervous sweat and drown themselves in doubt; others do not hesitate to send beams of criticism back. Many stare with innocent intentions while others purposely hope to provoke anxiety. However, if you did not know that someone’s cruel eyes were on you, would it be just as bothersome? Since 2000, internet security has been an issue that many feel is a violation of their privacy. This controversial topic has hit almost all newspapers with
In the 21st century, people of all ages have learned to use some sort of everyday communication technology. For that reason, communication technologies are a big part of society’s daily lives. The existence of surveillance in our everyday communication technologies can be understood as a cultural necessity. The way that the existence of surveillance in our everyday communication technologies can be understood as a cultural necessity is shown through Mark Andrejevic’s article named “The Work of Being Watched: Interactive Media and the Exploitation of Self-Disclosure”, Slack’s article of "Convenience" and Rosen J’s article named “The unwanted gaze: The destruction of privacy in America, New York:Random House.
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
The digital age provides individuals with numerous ways of innovative opportunities like recording data in an effective manner, electronic banking, online shopping, by violating privacy. Despite what might be expected, the national and global security framework needs components to check programmers and outsider interceptors, who can access delicate data and information, placed in various divisions of the financial framework. These outsider interceptors can then break-in remotely to harm or get access to passwords and usernames.