Privacy Response

     The internet and the ease of access to it is something that can be celebrated. However, something as innovative and society-shifting as the internet must come with drawbacks. In this case, lack of privacy can be seen as a potential drawback. Then, applying this issue of privacy to off-line issues, like government tracking, can create interesting discourse. 

    The internet is an everlasting forum, where a post is staked into the timeline forever, regardless of if it is deleted or not. This raises many eyebrows for the sake that opinions change, poor decisions can be made, and in this case, cannot be taken back. 

    The inability to exist without being spotted going about your day is also a hard topic because it teeters upon taking away people’s right to privacy. 

    This lack of privacy points towards a difficult question: Can something become private if it has been made known to the public? And to answer this, it is easier to take out the context of the internet or technologies and think of it in a more interpersonal way. A statement made or action committed in public can never be renamed as private because others heard or seen it. So, they have the ability to live with that information. Then, to reapply this mindset to the internet or tracking technologies, it is fair to assume that privacy cannot be infringed upon if something is released to or done in public.

    Even though it is logical, this difficulty with privacy can still be scary. This issue can affect anyone and everyone for any statement made without realizing the severity of posting. Personally, as someone who grew up with the internet and social media, I have been posting since a young age. It is fascinating yet frightening to know that all my posts from my entire life continue to exist to this day, as it feels like that covers my entire life. 

    For many, this can be scary for posting something that they no longer agree with or for making a statement that was not intelligible. These posts still exist in the archives of the internet, and can arise in a given moment. 

    I do not think the government should involve themselves in this issue any more than informing the people of the facts. I am not sure if I agree with location tracking or wiretapping, because criminals need to be found in a speedy time, but it can be a slippery slope for infringing upon the rights of the citizens. Perhaps by informing people of the privacy policy regarding what they track or collect, the government is not hiding their actions and gives people the opportunity to decide their course of action. 

    To protect ourselves from an invasion of privacy, we can inform ourselves of the severity of online usage and posting. Furthermore, we can form like-minded groups that ensure our rights are not being infringed upon. However, the most we can do is doing the research regarding where your posts go and how your privacy may be affected by that site. The DHS gives these tips to protect one’s privacy. 

    Privacy is important, so unknowingly giving it up should not happen. But, by learning about our rights to privacy, we as a people are taking steps to a better future.