Behind the Eyes of What Others Can See Have you ever thought about how truly scary it is how much information can be revealed online just from simply giving permission to an application? Caitlin McGarry, in “Social Media Lockdown,” contends that many people do not know which apps are raiding their phones. Many people give access to their phone’s data, but they’re giving permission to more information than they need to. So many people don’t even know about services that can notify them whenever their name is being used on a social media site. Social media isn’t as secure as people think it is, but proper steps can be taken to feel more protected and safe. McGarry states that anytime a smartphone app is downloaded, developers are allowed to …show more content…
When someone posts a picture and tags their location, stalkers can find out where they’re spending most of their time if they post enough pictures with geotags (43). Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the International Computer Science Institute put together a creepy project that shows how much detail you're sharing (go.pcworld.com/photoinfo) when you post on Twitter and Instagram -- and those results are based just on geotagged posts, not on photo metadata (McGarry 43). If someone wants to be sure that they’re not being stalked, they should turn off location settings in their phone’s settings. This will prevent geotags from being automatically connected to the picture being …show more content…
A lot of apps take more information than they need to. For example, when I downloaded Twitter I was asked for permission for my contacts, photos, location, and call information. I keep my Twitter account private, so I felt that it was fine to let Twitter have access to all of my information. After reading McGarry’s article, I went and shut off my location settings and unchecked all of the other accessible information that I knew they didn’t really need. It mostly is information that is truly unnecessary. Also, I feel more protected after doing that. It’s creepy how they know who I might want to follow based off of the information they’ve already gathered. I know that I am safer now because I don’t get weird notifications
“The standards of what we want to keep private and what we make public are constantly evolving. Over the course of Western history, we’ve developed a desire for more privacy, quite possibly as a status symbol…”(Singer) Technological change leads to new abuses, creating new challenges to security, but society adapts to those challenges. To meet the innate need for privacy, we learn what to reveal and where, and how to keep secret what we don't want to disclose. “Whether Facebook and similar sites are reflecting a change in social norms about privacy or are actually driving that change, that half a billion people are now on Facebook suggests that people believe the benefits of connecting with others, sharing information, networking, self-promoting, flirting, and bragging outweigh breaches of privacy that accompany such behaviours,”(Singer) This is obvious by the continuous and unceasing use of social media platforms, but what needs to be considered is that this information is being provided willingly. “More difficult questions arise when the loss of privacy is not in any sense a choice.”(Singer) When the choice to be anonymous it taken away through social media, the person loses the ability to keep their personal information
In “Could You Become a Mean Meme” settings show that you can keep your posts private to the close people around you. For instance, “ You can usually choose an audience ranging from your closest friends to anyone who uses the app or site” ( Lewis 13). This is relevant because the feeling of only close friends and family makes social media safer. Sharing your posts to a minimum amount of people is better than not knowing who can access your photos if not on private mode. As related to this, in “ Are You Being Watched” shows how to limit tracking. As said by the author, “ Go into the browser settings and allow cookies, browse in private windows, and turn off your phone’s location services” ( Lewis15). This is crucial for some people because they may not want their information of where they live for the public to see. This explains that limiting the tracking on your phone can keep you safer. Throughout the article, it is possible for anything to be shared online to be truly
“Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy,” Sarah Chalke. When using the web, web users’ information tend to be easily accessible to government officials or hackers. In Nicholas Carr’s “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” Jim Harpers’ “Web Users Get As Much As They Give,” and Lori Andrews “Facebook is Using You” the topic of internet tracking stirred up many mixed views; however, some form of compromise can be reached on this issue, laws that enforces companies to inform the public on what personal information is being taken, creating advisements on social media about how web users can be more cautious to what kind of information they give out online, enabling your privacy settings and programs, eliminating weblining,
The personal connection Americans have with their phones, tablets, and computers; and the rising popularity of online shopping and social websites due to the massive influence the social media has on Americans, it is clear why this generation is called the Information Age, also known as Digital Age. With the Internet being a huge part of our lives, more and more personal data is being made available, because of our ever-increasing dependence and use of the Internet on our phones, tablets, and computers. Some corporations such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook; governments, and other third parties have been tracking our internet use and acquiring data in order to provide personalized services and advertisements for consumers. Many American such as Nicholas Carr who wrote the article “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers,” Anil Dagar who wrote the article “Internet, Economy and Privacy,” and Grace Nasri who wrote the article “Why Consumers are Increasingly Willing to Trade Data for Personalization,” believe that the continuing loss of personal privacy may lead us as a society to devalue the concept of privacy and see privacy as outdated and unimportant. Privacy is dead and corporations, governments, and third parties murdered it for their personal gain not for the interest of the public as they claim. There are more disadvantages than advantages on letting corporations, governments, and third parties track and acquire data to personalized services and advertisements for us.
To begin with, various websites are violating our privacy by selling our data to third party companies. Today accumulation of personal information is escalating using technology tools all over the world without permission of an individual. Precisely, social networking sites such as Facebook collects information actively while websites such as Google passively. Facebook allows strangers to view anyone’s profile and systematically eliminates privacy for those who choos...
Social media is everywhere and very popular all over the world. Social media is used on computers, tablets, smartphones, etc and along with the use of social media there are privacy issues that come along with it. Social media is part of everyone’s life and is hard to give up. Even though we might not think there is isn’t anything wrong with it, there is which comes down to our privacy. Our privacy is being invaded when using these popular networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. Social media is here to communicate with others and build relationships not invade our privacy.
Holtzman, D. Privacy Lost: How Technology is Endangering your Privacy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.
If a stranger would approach someone on the street, would one casually offer personal information to him? Would one allow him to follow and record one’s activities? Although it may be obvious in the concrete world that one would not allow it, the behavior of the general population on the Internet is strikingly different. While surfing websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google, many people provide personal details to enhance their online profile? These websites retain vast amounts of personal information from their users.
Perhaps the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said it best when he claimed that privacy is no longer a “social norm.” Virtually everyone has a smart phone and everyone has social media. We continue to disclose private information willingly and the private information we’re not disclosing willingly is being extracted from our accounts anyway. Technology certainly makes these things possible. However, there is an urgent need to make laws and regulations to protect against the stuff we’re not personally disclosing. It’s unsettling to think we are living in 1984 in the 21st century.
Social medias have become a big part of our society now, they are being used in all aspects of our life. We are connected twenty-four hours a day, at work, school, home, shopping etc. There is a necessity, a need to be connected to these social media’s, to feel like you are a part of society. With these growing numbers in being connected to social media’s on the web, there comes a growing desire for privacy and safety. In this paper I will discuss and analyze the social media’s themselves, the dangers that arise from them, and how all these correlate to privacy.
When joining a social networking site people create a profile, which displays their age, college, hometown, sexual preference, interests, and relationship status; and based on this information the network provides them with suggestions for connections to individuals already on the site. It seems harmless at first; “how does it matter if my friends see where I work or what my interests are, they probably already...
With the level of exposure that teens are facing today by joining the social networking trend, they often forget the dangers of social networking such as stalkers and pedophiles, who may use the sites as a major tool of the trade. Said dangers can befriend naïve teens and lure them into dangerous situations. For example, Raymond Wang had a friend being stalked by an unknown person through one of the social networking sites. This stalker acquired private information about her via Facebook, and it got to the point where the stalker was sending her threatening or perverted letters to her actual mailbox detailing what he would do to her. “This has really affected her a lot because now she’s scared other stalkers might do the same and she doesn't want that to happen or have anything happen to her.” (Wang 19) Even though users are given the option to make one’s profile private, there is still the looming threat that stalkers are able to gather enough information about the person’s whereabouts. Another similar incident happened to Regina Chau, a member of a social networking site catered to the raver lifestyle, Plurlife. When she first joined with her offline friends she liked everything about the SNS, but “[where] most of the people you accept to your friends list would probably be strangers.” (Chau 18) she had befriended a person she did not know offline and one these “friends” got a little too friendly with her; “he would keep asking over and over if I wanted to meet up with him at the next event. I found this a little creepy and did not message him back after that.
The first aspect being addressed is the problem with social network sites exposing information. Social networking has created an environment where it is nearly a duty to expose oneself. Profiles on these social websites are updated everyday with personal information such as locations, status, and future plans. Anyone can search another’s name and find information about their history, pictures, and activity. With the help of social networking sites...
Although social media is a healthy channel for personal interactions among friends and peers for the youth of today, the lack of understanding about online privacy creates a severe threat on multiple levels. Many teenagers and young adults remain oblivious to the consequences of their online posts and have little to no discretion when sending personal information to...
Many people use social networks everyday as a way to share their personal lives with their friends or followers. Many people are culprits of oversharing personal information on social networks. Oversharing is when one reveals an unacceptable amount of information which may or may not be inappropriate. Also what most seem to fail to remember is that whatever is posted online, stays online forever. The main social networks that are victims of oversharing include Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. “Communities are outraged by the personal information posted by young people online and colleges keep track of student activities on and off campus. The posting of personal information by teens and students has consequences” (Barnes 1). While oversharing