When it comes to people and their daily lives, people just want to post every part of their life online for the world to see. The only problem when it comes to that is what happens once that information has been posted. The information you post online can be used for any reason, and sometimes, without your consent. Jacob Silverman, author of Terms of Service, believes that anything you post online is being abused by companies and even the social media sites themselves, and I agree with him on that. In the following essay, I will explain to you why companies on social media are overstepping their boundaries and what should be done to stop it. Since the inception of social media with SixDegrees in 1997 (Hendricks), people have been able to post and share their daily lives for the whole world to see. This wasn’t a real big problem for the most part until the more prominent social media sites like Facebook came to be. Ever since then, the companies that use Facebook and other social media sites have often used and abused people’s personal and oftentimes private information for publicity and advertisements. This is a major issue that needs to be stopped somehow, and there’s one possible way to do it. Facebook and most other major social media sites have become so popular that it seems like there is no possible way to fully make sure one’s information is private. This, in turn, makes it nearly impossible for one to make sure that their information stays private like they wished
Privacy has become a prominent topic in academic and social debate throughout the country. In “Term of Service” by Jacob Silverman, Silverman argues that American citizens today are unaware that their private information is often shown and are no longer safe from the public eye. After all, the integration of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter has made it impossible to keep anything private. Sharing life events on social media has become the new social norm in the United States. However, this new trend has left the online community with a false sense of security, leaving them venerable against data mining, profiling, and unknown surveillance issues by third party miners across the country. With no end to this threat, how can causal social media users defend themselves without any assistants? The federal government should adopt stronger privacy laws like they have in Europe. They should come up with a digital bill of reforms to help better protect the online community, better inform the public about data mining threats, and companies should get government approval for any data retrieval before they are used for financial gains.
In the article “Facebook Is Using You,” Lori Andrews describes the damaging consequences of corporations collecting and selling personal information retrieved from internet users. She explains how this information is often used to create personalized advertisements and while seemingly harmless may have negative implications on internet users’ employability, legal battles or ability to receive credit (552).
So many users of the internet blindly browse and post on these sites without any thought to the online identity they are creating for themselves. Shares, tweets, hashtags, likes, and comments all combine to make up an amalgamation of marketable information. In November of 2016, an average of six thousand tweets were made per second, and ninety-five million Instagram posts were made per day (Sayce; Parker). Facebook “has become the largest database of personal information ever collected,” says Richard, and Facebook takes advantage of this. With almost two billion users, Facebook has no shortage of information to gather (Sparks). They do this mainly for targeted advertising. There is no small profit to be made in this. In 2011 Lori Andrews wrote, “Facebook made $3.2 billion in advertising revenue last year, 85% of it's total revenue.” However, Facebook and other internet corporations also relay data gathered on users to the
Appears that anywhere you look today you will find someone using social media. With advertisements and commercials even billboards Social Media appears to be anywhere you look. Social Media is such a big thing today, according to study provided by the website Socialnomics, individuals devote 700 billion minutes every month on Facebook (statisticbrain.com). Social Media has now become so much better for advertising that it is changing how business is done.
"We collect the content and other information you provide when you use our Services, including when you sign up for an account, create or share, and message or communicate with others” (Hachman). Each day people live with a false security that they are protected and maintain a sense of privacy. Citizens misplace their trust in social media and technology, and divulge their personal information in ignorance of the repercussions that may arise. Users say the advances in technology and social media will not affect their privacy; however, it is proven that these advances can be a harbinger of both danger and discontent.
There is a rising dominance of social media sites that allows users lives to become increasingly transparent. With full information about ones activities available for everyone to see, it blurs the line between personal and impersonal information. Personal information like where you were, and your private life information are now things that everyone feels free to share, and by doing so dismantling the boundaries of personal information.
From different online social media websites to virtual adventure games, software that helps people meet, talk, and work with others is getting billion of online users. The use of social media comes with a price, though. Every photo upload or click of a “like” button deposits users' personal data online, many of which gives businesses the statistics they need for advertising. To some, such data being collected is an invasion of privacy, but social media supporters say it is a little price to pay for the benefits of online socializing. Meanwhile, people criticize
Social Media has become universal in the day to day lives of Americans. Every ad, television show, and even food products incorporate social media for revenue. With recent revelations concerning social media involvement with spying it should be common knowledge to be wary what you post, yet for many people social media is now a memoir. By simply clicking a button you can post your life online for anyone to see. Although it's believed to be for the greater good, the use of social media to spy on citizens an invasion of privacy and a direct violation of the fourth Amendment.
Social networking sites give their users an easy way to share information about themselves. However, many users are quickly finding that the information they intend to share with their friends can all too easily find its way into the hands of the authorities, strangers, the press, and the public at large. For example, job recruiters are looking to these sites as well as performing more traditional background
The United States is a culture of sharing. People share their personal lives on almost every aspects with social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The idea of free online services have attract people’s natural instinct to indulge themselves into these free services. What they do not know is how these “free-services” ask in return. Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have revolutionized how people connect with one another and the way people retrieve resources, which also allows massive private information accessible to organizations. In the article called “Twitter’s Lucrative Data Mining Business” published in The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Dwoskin talks about Twitter’s disclosure that its company has “$47.5 million came from selling off its data to a fast-growing group of companies that analyze the data for insights into news events and trends” (Dwoskin). Although the internet has opened doors to many business opportunities and innovations, it has invaded social media users’ private information and often exposes them to unauthorized organizations such Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat for monetary gain. Legal standing has make it possible for these companies to appropriately set user’s policies regarding the disclosure of user’s privacy, but people often disregard on how companies are distributing their information that may expose their privacy to unauthorized organizations.
Social Media is a current way in which people are using to interact with one another daily. Since the launch of various Social Networking Sites (SNS) its been a huge attraction in a new way to share information with others and correspond with interests of your choice in many different forms. Although social media sites allow users to share information with friends and other sites on the internet, many people are unaware of how their privacy is getting out. Now that the expansion of global connection through these social media networking sites are so highly present in todays society, giving us easy access to information, the lack of one's privacy is being diminished. Everyday peoples privacy rights are
Social media is defined by internet-based websites and networks that create a virtual platform for online users to share ideas and information, build social communities, and create a space for self-expression. As of 2018, an estimated amount of 2.6 billion people in the entire population actively have social networking accounts. As the digital age becomes more prevalent, and thus expanding, social media enterprises, such as Facebook, are devising ways and software that enhance marketing. These methods, however, have recently triggered criticism for collecting information that users may not want to be meddled by unknown parties. Seeing how this infringes the right to privacy, it can only be resolved by refraining from social media.
Facebook is an example of how Social Media has influenced the lives of many Americans in today’s generation. Facebook has a negative and positive experience in many ways. Many people meet and become “friends” just by the click of a button. It has encouraged several users all over the country to interact and be social. It can also be a way of finding old friends of yours just by typing in their name in the search bar. Several users pretend being someone else by creating a fake page because they are hiding behind their insecurities. As a generation, e tend to care less about privacy because we update our status on where we are, or what we are doing. This is scary at times because it is easy for anyone to access your information at any time. Facebook,
The Internet has done wonderful things for our world. Knowledge of practically anything can be obtained through the Internet. And now, with the booming of Social Media, that includes people. Nearly every person can be found online with information pertaining to their interests, their family, and even to their exact location. This shows how useful the Internet truly is, allowing us the ability to connect with others and share information about ourselves at any time, it’s an incredibly useful technology. At the same time, however, this incredible ease of finding personal information has created some issues relating to personal privacy.
The invasion of privacy that occurs on social media websites and applications is horrendous, which can affect a person’s opportunities in life or reflect a false image of themselves and how others view them. Andre Oboler explains his feelings about social media and its negative effects in his document, "Social Media Data Collection Can Lead to Violations of Privacy," which states, “Social media data can be used to collect information about individuals by governments, businesses, journalists, employers, or social media platforms themselves. This data collection can result in numerous kinds of infringements of privacy. It could be used to manipulate voters, track activists,