The Importance Of Social Media Privacy

The New Media Age has brought about a wealth of technological innovations from the smartphone to online social media platforms. These creations have changed the way many people conduct their daily lives, but it has also changed the way the world faces privacy. New technologies make the spread of information astonishingly easy. As information is more readily available to a vast online audience, there is growing concern for the protection of people’s private information. Yet these technologies offer a number of limitations ranging from ownership of information to the ability to circumnavigate privacy systems that diminish privacy to a mere concept left to be desired, in turn altering the perception of the devices spawning the issue. Concerns

In the United States of America, the right to freedom of speech is protected constitutionally. Privacy is a concept which is protected only through laws, and is thus superseded by the constitutional freedom of speech in a court of law (Determann 1-2). The private companies which manufacture smartphones and operate social networks as well as the individuals who use these products and services retain this right, which places their actions over the interests of maintaining the privacy of others who use the technologies. Additionally, while users may look to social media companies such as Facebook to blame for invasions of privacy, it is often other users who are responsible for the breach. Most people are offended by the content uploaded by others, whether it is a picture or a revealing status update, which is not within the control of the company (Determann 2). Social media companies are responsible for enforcing and upholding their terms of service and ensuring that the rights of their users are not being infringed. They cannot violate these rights in the name of protecting

Perceptions of the security and privacy in the new era of technology are reflected in how users handle their personal information on a daily basis in relation to their electronic devices and services. People are less willing to input sensitive information such as their social security number or financial credentials into a mobile device as opposed to a laptop computer, many citing security concerns as the reason why they did not want to input the information (Chin et al. 4). The public feels that their private and sensitive information cannot be protected by the security systems of their smartphones. As a result, they dictate their actions with their electronic devices in order to manually preserve and protect their digital