Privacy, Online and Off // Blog #4

 

Blog #5 

Technology in this day and age is used by a large number of people. As a young man who has grown up with technology throughout my life, the idea of a “digital footprint” of myself on the internet wouldn't cross my mind. From a young age the number one thing people would say is to be safe with the internet or even the saying “Be careful of what you put on the internet”. This advice has only become more relevant as I’ve gotten older, with technology evolving and social media expanding its reach into every aspect of my life. As a young man who has experienced a real-world situation, I’m increasingly aware of how this online presence can impact not only personal relationships but also professional opportunities. The internet has made it easier than ever to connect and share, but it’s also a permanent record that can define my family, friends, and myself. 

In the first Ted Talk, Juan Enriquez discusses the idea of a digital footprint with your own tattoo. My dad has a tattoo that is very meaningful to him, which can tell you a lot about him. Also, I know if you search my name on Google, LinkedIn, and Instagram it will pop up. These are three websites that, even if I delete something, will always be on the internet and something could possibly come back to me. The tattoo on my dad can tell you a story, but the platforms tell you way more about my own identity, such as my email, where I live, family members, and sports I played. All of this information is available anywhere for anyone on the internet. This can be scary, especially for a college student looking for internships and job opportunities. It's scary because either big or small information about yourself is so accessible through the internet. 

 It goes on to talk about how police departments use license plates to track every vehicle and where they are going. The police use scanners to track where pedestrians and users are in our day-to-day lives. They have each car with multiple scans of their license plates. Their logic to hold onto all this private information is truly for the future.  The small chance this person might be a criminal they keep tabs on everyone and have a file with numerous photos just to know your day-to-day life. 

Having seen these videos, I think the government needs to do something to increase the little privacy we have on our phones. After learning about this, I feel that it is wrong for anyone, including the government, to have access to our phone numbers. But I also have to take into account the Ted Talk's argument that if the government expands phone privacy, it may make it harder to apprehend criminals, which could be damaging to society.

I honestly do not believe there is much we can do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy. One main reason is because of how much technology is evolving and because of how much it's used in our everyday lives. Also with the mass surveillance they talked about in the Ted Talk and how there are hundreds of pictures of all of our license plates I'm not sure if we can do much we can do to protect ourselves. Facial recognition technology has reached an unnervingly high level of accuracy, and there’s no going back once it's in place.

The government can now form a clear picture of how regular people go about their daily lives; with today’s tech, privacy seems almost nonexistent. That’s why I’m doubtful that much can realistically be done to stop it.