The topic of privacy in
relation to our advanced interactive online world is a major factor of me.
Although I have personal social media accounts, as well as being responsible
for Facebook and Twitter at work I am always bothered by the amount of personal
information that is out there, therefore I try to restrict mine within some
capacity. The fact that today’s technology opens a portal for people to gather
endless consumptions of information on any one person is very unnerving. “Technology
has rendered the conventional definition of personally identifiable information
obsolete,” said Maneesha Mithal. However some could argue that this is
all a choice, we don’t need to create all these accounts, or share our every
moment or thought online. But the fear of being left behind or missing out
makes it impossible for people to say no. Not to mention that professionally
and academically not being a part of the forward movements isn’t really an
option. The world is moving fast and technology is the propeller so if we don’t
want drowned and left behind we need to jump on board.
Some may believe that the
risk factor of having someone steal our personal information in some form or
another is relative to how much you have to lose if it occurred. However, I
would argue that our identity regardless of what financial or social risk there
is attached is a massive cost. Regardless of the purpose of a social media
account I think all privacy settings available should be used and the user be
mindful at all times of the potential risks. Although if someone really decides
to target you and hack your information is there really much we can do to stop
them? As Lohr (2010) mentions “the F.T.C. is worried that rules to protect
privacy have not kept up with technology” so are we inevitably helpless?
Thankfully there is
some support and guidelines out there, Whittaker (2011) provides a basic guide
to ensuring privacy measures are enforced as best to our ability for the average
tech savvy person. But are they pointless, are the already coded for
breakthrough before they are even developed, with every privacy method created,
there is always someone out there looking to crack it?
What are your feelings
on the privacy risks associated with online forums?
Do you enforce the
safety measurements, or take the risk that someone could obtain your
information.
Has the growing fear
factor discouraged you from using the multiple online tools?
References
Lohr, Steve. 2010 The
New York Times, How Privacy Vanishes
Online
I couldn't agree more with your post. It seems that the big problem today is finding the balance between employee interaction and the right company conduct. The last thing companies want to do is create an environment where employees don't interact on social media or the interaction comes off as propaganda. The attraction of social media is the idea of honest discussion and expression.
ReplyDeleteThe best way forward is training and guidelines. The guidelines should be simple and clear. Also the guidelines should indicate how the employee is protected and not just the company. I'm interested to see how this issue evolves over the years. My assumption is that companies will realize the importance of social media and not try to hamper real interaction to much.