The issue of digital privacy on the internet has grown significantly with the use of technology. We continue to find new ways to advance technologies that are designed to “assist” us in our everyday lives.
Nowadays, it’s so easy to accidentally put all of your personal information out for everyone to see without the realization. With this, we must ask ourselves these questions:
Is there really such a thing as putting too much information out on the internet?
Can our technologies our own trust against us and put us at risk by sharing our personal information with them?
The answer is yes.
Why is Digital Privacy Important?
Think of your house as an example. The only people who have access are the people with a key or let in by someone who lives there. The inside of a house is a private area in which people live and share their personal lives and information. So, the people who live there should always be aware of who exactly they are letting into that sacred space.
The same goes for digital spaces created on the internet. It is important for people to understand how to limit who can view their personal information/ work. It is just as important for people to limit how much of it others can have access to.
The article, “Understanding and Maintaining Your Privacy When Writing With Digital Technologies” by Lindsey C. Kim discusses the importance of keeping your information safe during this blooming time of technology. Kim refers to technology as a “private space” in which we can decide who has access to it. She also refers to technology as our “digital homes” since our whole lives have been in our devices. Hence understanding the importance of keeping that information safe is crucial.
In a similar way, The New York Times published an article titled, “How To Protect Your Digital Privacy.” The author Thorin Klosowski gives multiple “whys” and “hows” to protecting your personal figure online. Similar to Kim’s article, Klosowiski explains how easy it is for people to gain access to your personal information. She also discusses ensuring that everything has restrictions on it, so is super important and crucial to keeping yourself safe.
Klosowski also explains how the number of data breaches has increased significantly as technology has continued to grow smarter throughout the years. It is even more important now than ever to keep your information locked away and safe to you.
Is the Internet a Lie?
Anyone at any time could put whatever it is that they choose to out on the internet. It doesn’t matter if it is correct or not, most uses of the internet allow users to post whatever kind of information/ pictures they want. With this freedom comes false information and/ or stories that spread from person to person.
All it takes is for one person to post an inaccurate piece of information for the news to trend. People then believe a story that is completely not true.
In the article titled, “Messy & Chaotic Learning: A Domains Presentation At Keene State College,” the author Martha Fay Burtis discusses how easy it is to fake a story and cause it to get so much attention on the internet just by studying the algorithm and what people are more likely to click on and read more about. Burtis also discusses how we live in a world full of “fake news” and “alternative facts” and how easy it is to access it.
This goes along with Kim’s article since she discusses the importance of understanding how the internet “flows.” There needs to be stronger privacy on what can be put out on the internet to stop the spread of false information.
A need for information to be shared and spread across the internet is always needed. People from all around the world can access this and be informed, so having stronger privacy rules put into place could help stop the spread of false information.
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