Is There Such a Thing as Privacy Anymore?

 

        In this modern world with all the brilliant technology, alarms, and safekeeping, people expect their information to be safe too, but in reality, our information is more vulnerable than ever. From social media, to telephone calls, to even our own streets, everything these days is trying to steal our information. 

    For years, I have been told to "Be careful" when posting or doing anything online because "it will never go away". And I have come to learn that warning has never been truer. By agreeing to the terms and conditions, you are letting any social media company use your information including posts, pictures, and whatever other media you upload for its own use without you ever even knowing. And since no reasonable person would ever read the entirety of the terms and conditions, we never know exactly what we are agreeing to when signing up for apps or websites. It is a good thing I listened to those mentors long ago because I actually don't have social media except for Snapchat and Pinterest, and I hardly post on Snapchat and never post on Pinterest. So while I am not perfectly safe, I am safer than most since I am not posting every moment of my day on Instagram or Facebook.

    What is more concerning is the surveillance I didn't know was happening. I had heard of telephone surveillance happening in the past, but I did not realize that it was still happening today and was happening to ordinary people. It made sense to me that an important government official or someone of high status, but in reality, it could happen to anyone and everyone, which is scary to think about. Any phone call I have with my dad or friends could potentially be recorded and then used against me even if I have done nothing wrong. 

    Even worse, and even scarier is the fact that police departments across the nation use special cameras to track license plates. I have never even seen the cameras that are mentioned in the linked video, but like they say, the cameras are everywhere, and just because we haven't seen them, it doesn't mean they aren't there. Anyone and everyone could be tracked to wherever they go, and your entire life could be determined just based on where you go. The fact that police just keep this information on everyone is concerning and honestly makes me feel less safe, even though I am sure the intentions behind it are good.

    So, what can we do about it? True privacy is a must that we should all strive for. But to achieve this, we have to start petitioning the government to make laws that actually protect our privacy. For example, passing laws to dispose of any information (including location tracking and recordings of phone calls) on innocent individuals who have no reason to be tracked in the first place. We should also prevent companies from making such outrageous laws about what they can do with our data too so none of it can be used against us in the future. 

    Other than that, there are some things we can actively do in our personal lives to secure our privacy. We can first take some valuable lessons from Juan Enriquez to protect ourselves online: 1) Be careful what you post. 2) Don't look too deeply into the online lives of those you care about. 3) Don't get distracted, especially by things that are put in place to get in your way. 4) Don't be self-centered. 

    And we can also download apps (some examples pictured to the right) that don't track our every move but still allow us to go about our daily lives scrolling through the Internet. It would also be smart to routinely check for viruses or malware on your personal devices. And when you are downloading an app, be sure to go into the settings and see what information is being shared.