The first thing I wanted to do was an online audit. I searched my name on Google to see what came up. In order to raise the stakes, I played the role of a stalker, trying to figure out how much creepy information on me was online. What I found was mostly unsurprising to me. Because I played a big role in my successful high school football team, tons of articles about high school sports came up, including highlights and stories about my team. Someone could easily figure out where I lived and what school I went to. The next thing that comes up is my Twitter account. Because my account is set to public, anyone can see what I post on the site. While I do not tweet very often, the things I retweet tell a lot about the person I am. Anyone can easily figure out that I go to HPU and uncover my political affiliation, which is not ideal. Further research takes me to my very public LinkedIn, and in the case of keeping things private online, this is the biggest offender by far. LinkedIn offers to anyone with a computer my work history, interests, what skills I have, and who my friends or "connections" are. It is difficult to try to balance privacy on this site when the entire purpose of it is to market yourself to employers. In order to get on their radar, I need to have as much relevant information out there. Otherwise, your account will be lost in the sea of other competitions. If anything, putting out more personal information is better on the site, which makes it a bit scary. But for me, the information I market to employers is not information I am ashamed of, otherwise, it wouldn’t be posted. For the most part, all of the things I found online are items I don’t feel bad about sharing. Goofy films I made with friends in high school, my Bar Mitzvah video and middle school projects are not the worst things in the world for me to share. This information tells the story of who I am and allows me to share my past with friends. If I am being honest, when it comes to my privacy I would rather stand out from the crowd than blend in anonymously. I do not share too much of what I do on a daily basis online. For the most part, I like to think of myself as more of an observer rather than an interactor on the internet. I do not comment on things on FaceBook or Youtube for strangers to see. On Instagram, I strictly leave comments on my friend's accounts, and accounts of businesses I follow, mostly just the Baltimore Ravens. This information I am comfortable disclosing.
In the age of isolation and quarantine, one of the best ways to retain your sanity is to stay connected
to the outside world. Fortunately, we live in the most connected societies in history, so staying in
contact is relatively easy. All you have to do is tap a few icons on your smartphone, then boom!
You're instantly online on one of several different social media sites which can put you in contact
with essentially anyone in the world. When I was researching the topic of online privacy for my
Media Law and Literacy course, the prospect crossed my mind that this may not be all that good.
At this age, it is very difficult to be completely anonymous. The concept of privacy is nearly
completely gone, and it made me want to do some research on my own.
to the outside world. Fortunately, we live in the most connected societies in history, so staying in
contact is relatively easy. All you have to do is tap a few icons on your smartphone, then boom!
You're instantly online on one of several different social media sites which can put you in contact
with essentially anyone in the world. When I was researching the topic of online privacy for my
Media Law and Literacy course, the prospect crossed my mind that this may not be all that good.
At this age, it is very difficult to be completely anonymous. The concept of privacy is nearly
completely gone, and it made me want to do some research on my own.
I think if someone is going to leave a mark on this world, they are going to have to be okay
with allowing people to know what they do. That is just a part of being a person who makes a
difference, which is above all else what I want to do with my life. The portion about my privacy
that really scares me, are the things that I do not know are being tracked. When Google seemingly
can read my mind and market to me the exact product that I need. How I bring my phone with me
everywhere and that I know it is listening and tracking my location. This information is what
scares me the most. The information that I give to companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple is
probably not smart, yet I do it anyway because of convenience. Credit card info, access to my face,
and fingerprint, and I allow their own personal listening devices like Siri and Alexa into my life. I
constantly wonder how these technologies will progress in the future, and what potential risks they
bring. When it comes to sharing what I do on a daily basis in the privacy of my home with complete
strangers, that is where I draw the line. For now, I will be more careful about what permissions I give
to cites, such as my internet cookies. But it is difficult to monitor all the information that we
unknowingly give to strangers. For now, this information (as far as I know) has only been used to
benefit me, but I fear the day when this knowledge will be used for harm.
with allowing people to know what they do. That is just a part of being a person who makes a
difference, which is above all else what I want to do with my life. The portion about my privacy
that really scares me, are the things that I do not know are being tracked. When Google seemingly
can read my mind and market to me the exact product that I need. How I bring my phone with me
everywhere and that I know it is listening and tracking my location. This information is what
scares me the most. The information that I give to companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple is
probably not smart, yet I do it anyway because of convenience. Credit card info, access to my face,
and fingerprint, and I allow their own personal listening devices like Siri and Alexa into my life. I
constantly wonder how these technologies will progress in the future, and what potential risks they
bring. When it comes to sharing what I do on a daily basis in the privacy of my home with complete
strangers, that is where I draw the line. For now, I will be more careful about what permissions I give
to cites, such as my internet cookies. But it is difficult to monitor all the information that we
unknowingly give to strangers. For now, this information (as far as I know) has only been used to
benefit me, but I fear the day when this knowledge will be used for harm.
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