Why is Privacy So Important?

 

After watching the Ted Talk video with Juan Enriquez about how your online life and what you post, is like a tattoo. I absolutely agree with this as whatever content is being posted by someone, automatically becomes your own digital footprint. This is in the sense that even if you delete something from any social media networking platform, that doesn't mean it is gone forever. Enriquez described how most people can decipher a tattoo's meaning even without words being included in the design. He compares this idea with the fact that various social media networking platforms are a form of an electronic tattoo. To further explain this, he gave an example of how if you are at a bar, you can look up a person's entire life on the internet before even uttering a word to them. Some of the networking platforms that can give the most insight into who a person is are, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

What Enriquez talked about in the video affects me because I do love social media and I love to post content on there but I am always mindful of what I post and who can view it. By protecting my content, I make sure that anyone who is unknown by me is removed from my profile which is usually by blocking them especially if it is a suspicious account. My family does not really post on social media especially my parents as they do not want their privacy to be breached at any point by these apps. The only social networking platform my dad has is LinkedIn. My siblings and cousins do have social media but they do not post a lot unless it is on Twitter. And even there, they have to be mindful of what they post and who the post is able to be seen by. 

The government should start mandating stricter policies around data sharing. There should also be more research and exploration regarding newer technology to help people feel more secure and private while on the internet. This would include having any personal information about a person immediately removed if that person can be easily identified. 

In order for someone to protect themselves while they are on the internet they should start actively participating in various practices. Such as, always making sure you are not clicking on any random links on the internet that just pop up, updating your software for the most current version that gives the best quality of protection, and to make sure that your social media profiles are private as well as sharing the least amount of personal information. Being on the internet has drastically revolutionized our society, but it has also put numerous amounts of people at risk so it is very important to be wise while being on the internet whether it is just browsing a website or posting on social media.