We live in a society where we are dependent on technology and what it can do for us. We welcome new, more advanced technology without giving it any thought. Society rarely thinks about how technology can work against us. Protecting our privacy or what little privacy we still have should be a major concern in today’s world of new and developing technology. And although it is on the minds of some, for others it is not. Individuals need and should have the opportunity to decide and control what personal information about their lives or personal affairs is in public view (Wikipedia). Our privacy as it is is already limited. Everything we do can be traced back to us. We should all be able to set boundaries on what people know and don’t know when it concerns us. It seems to be that in today’s world of computers and the Internet people are more willing to give up their privacy or simply less careful. Internet privacy allows individuals to choose what information is exposed about them but also lets individuals to decide who has access that information. The Internet is a place where anyone who is anyone can be found and where personal information can be stolen. Some things deserve to be confidential. Here are twelve tips I found for protecting your online privacy include:
1. Do not reveal personal information inadvertently.
2. Turn on cookie notices in your Web browser, and/or use cookie management software or infomediaries.
3. Keep a "clean" e-mail address.
4. Don't reveal personal details to strangers or just-met "friends".
5. Realize you may be monitored at work, avoid sending highly personal e-mail to mailing lists, and keep sensitive files on your home computer.
6. Beware sites that offer some sort of reward or prize in exchange for your contact information or other personal details.
7. Do not reply to spammers, for any reason.
8. Be conscious of Web security.
9. Be conscious of home computer security.
10. Examine privacy policies and seals.
11. Remember that YOU decide what information about yourself to reveal, when, why, and to whom.
12. Use encryption!
It seems that with today’s youth or the younger generations we are more willing to share our personal information. Boyd (2007) describes how “today’s teenagers are being socialized into a society complicated by shifts in public and private.” Teenagers are joining Social Network Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. Along with so many others, I have accounts on both MySpace and Facebook. I do worry about my privacy online so I try to limit who I allow to be my friends. I only allow those people I know and have met and I never list my address or my telephone number. I think it’s very important to minimize what you share. So many people are capable of taking advantage of personal information and there are certain things that people just do not need to know. I personally have not encountered any privacy problems online but that doesn't mean I never will. This is one of those issues that could happen to anyone. We need to learn how to protect our privacy and in order to do so we all need to be more responsible. Technology will only continue to improve and we need to protect what little privacy we have left.
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Boyd, D. (2007). Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What?. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au.tkt2007/?page_id+28
Stanton, M. (2002). EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from http://www.eff.org/Privacy/eff_privacy_top_12.html
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2 comments:
Nice post! I'd like to see a bit more of your discussion -- there's only about 400 words of your analysis here, and your thoughts are interesting!
It's actually funny to me that probably the majority of internet users know about these 'rules' but many of them don't even use them. Good points though.
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