Blog Post #3 Privacy Online & Off

Privacy is a word that has been thrown around in the digital world since social media has become a rising phenomenon. The question that not enough people are asking is "What is the difference between privacy and digital privacy?" Privacy is the "freedom from unauthorized intrusion," and digital privacy is "the ability of an individual to control the access and use of their personal information as and when they access the internet."    

For me, awareness of digital privacy was instilled by my mother. She would tell me that you never know the intentions of other people and you should always be aware of your surroundings.

The issues of digital privacy definitely make me more aware of what is happening in the world that I live in. As someone who does not have social media, sometimes I feel like I am living under a rock since I am not exposed to these issues that others face on a day-to-day basis. 

In the first TED Talk video posted on the Media Law & Literacy website, Joseph Geni discussed how the digital world is like a tattoo. Each time we post something, like a post or comment on a post, we are giving ourselves a digital tattoo. The way Geni approached how we treat social media gave me a completely different perspective... these things last forever!

Geni also discussed the idea of location tracking, which I believe can be used for good. However, some people have different intentions. To me, location tracking is a good thing if you are in trouble or have just gotten into a car accident and need help from a family member. Providing your location will let them know where to find you. Where things start to get scary is when people with malicious intentions hack into devices and use your location to stalk you. 

I feel as though the Government should enact more laws against breaches of digital privacy, especially in the world that we live in today. The only issue with passing new laws is that they tend to take years to become part of the United States' legislative system, which does not help the people affected by these issues.

As I said before, the only way we can protect ourselves from invasions of privacy is to be aware of what we are saying and posting online. Encryption does a very good job of protecting what is on our devices, but you can never be too careful.