Blog #8 : Privacy

Privacy is defined as “the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people” (Oxford Dictionary). Privacy can be easily defined, but it can be questioned whether or not it is a real occurrence in modern society. This is due to the fact that in today's world, true privacy does not exist very often. Nearly every aspect of our lives are being watched, whether by the government or technology software. 

One of the most frightening things I learned about privacy was from a Ted Talk by Juan Enriquez. He began his talk with the topic of tattoos and how they can hold a lot of symbolic meaning about a person through sharing the individual’s story visually. Now, there is nothing to be frightened about with physical tattoos, but electronic tattoos are a legitimate concern. Electronic tattoos are very similar to body tattoos, in the sense that they visually tell a lot about a person. There are electronic tattoos connected to every person that uses the internet, from your family and friends to yourself. We all understand that celebrities often lose their privacy once becoming famous, with even the smallest aspects of their lives being collected and distributed. This same collection of information has been happening to us over the past few decades. Sources such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, cell phones, and even GPS have been collecting information about us. This is nearly impossible to avoid because technology is so heavily integrated within our lives. Yet, the best way to look at electronic tattoos is from the Greek story of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was condemned to roll a rock uphill, for it to only fall back down eternally due to his poor actions. This rock can be compared to our electronic tattoos, for we will have them going up and downhill for a very long time. It is imperative to be cautious of what activities we are engaging in online so it does not damage our reputation. 

Unfortunately, those who do not use technology are also not safe from this invasion of privacy. Today, there are trackers that can scan license plates and follow each and every place we travel. They can collect information about you whether you are going to visit a therapist or an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Catherine Crump held a Ted Talk on this tracking, that is essentially an unknown track of almost every move. License plate scanners are nearly everywhere, and yet the general population is typically unaware of what they look like or the fact that technology like this even exists. They are most commonly found within police cars or simply stationed on streets. They can track each place you visit and even track who is traveling with you. This information is said to be collected in case of a legal matter where this information would be necessary. Now, the question that is commonly asked is: What can the government do? Yet, they clearly do not care that they are invading our privacy, since they are playing a large role in collecting our information. Although it is said this information is only used to help with legal matters, it is not certain that the government is not abusing their power. 

One of the most basic solutions to help with privacy issues is to completely remove technology from one’s life. Yet, this is a very difficult concept, due to the fact that technology is quite integral in today's world. From phones to cars, there is technology within every single aspect of our daily lives. One small solution that could help is using Apple technology. It is claimed that if you were to use an Apple product to communicate with another user of an Apple product that your information would not be collected. Apple claims to know about the privacy invasion and has been putting forth efforts to keep users safe. One other precaution to take is to try using a third party communication source like Whatsapp. These third party messaging sites can help block the collection of our data. Despite taking these steps, it is clear that in today's world no one is safe from privacy invasion, and it will only continue to get more significant in the future.