Privacy in The Digital World

Over the past decade it seems like use of technology exploded. Society transitioned from using landlines, to flip phones, to smart phones. Not only did new technology bring more opportunities to individual’s, but it also brought new ways of teaching for many schools. Adding all of this technology also brought worry about how to stay “private” on the web. When using technology it can be very difficult to maintain privacy with the things you are doing. Most of us don’t even realize how much our devices understand.

Do I Have Any Privacy?

Have you ever experienced the feeling like your phone or computer is listening to you? That’s because it is. If you mention something about a new product you like, you may start to notice ads for that specific product on your feed. There have been many articles and research done to prove this. After a simple google search of “is my phone listening to me” many articles popped up. All with the answer “yes”. The New York Times describes it as our digital footprint. When researching or talking about one thing, other things on our device can track that and use it to their advantage. Our devices are basically a tracking device. Tracking our location, the things we do, things we buy, and can even track conversations you have with other people. It almost seems like we have no privacy when using technology.

Where Did it Come From?

So how did this technology all come about? If you’re someone like me who kind of just goes with the flow when it comes to technology and never really thought about your privacy, you probably have no idea how we got here. I never really thought about the depth of technology until recently. When working at a summer camp for children, one of their “specials” was coding. This was something I was not experienced in. The children learned how to code shapes, little people, and even created mini games that they could play. They did so using Scratch, a really great resource for beginners like me (and the children) that did not know a single thing about how technology works.

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