Privacy

            Have you ever thought or realized that anything you post on the internet can be seen anywhere on the world regardless if private settings are set on? Believe it or not, many people around the world literally revolve around the World Wide Web simply because anything can be researched as simple as a click away.  An extended case study in Media & Culture Mass Communication in a Digital Age Ninth Edition, the study talks about our digital world and the self-invasion of privacy. Media philosopher, Marshall McLuhan wrote, “Publication is a self-invasion of privacy.” What did he mean by that? I believe that he means that anything one posts is basically their own consent as to their privacy now becoming public for everyone to see. Whether people like it or not, privacy will never be “private”.

 

            Millions of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube users contribute to social media around the world by posting statuses, tweets, and even uploading videos in bulk simultaneously. Have you ever thought about how society has changed in the past decade? Teenagers of this time no longer have a face to face conversation with people. Instead, people are more adaptable to typing behind a device. Rarely, kids play outside now. In fact, it is more a “Hey, come over my house and we can play Xbox all night.”

             As far a social media standard, sites do not truly take privacy very strictly. Facebook have settings where a user can make things private, but before even being able to post status, a profile must be created with a name, age, date of birth, and sometimes even cell phone numbers in order to use their app. In addition, a user must accept the terms and conditions knowing they will overlook it. There is a reason why fine print is included. Many sites try not to stress the negatives about their products. Instead, they try and influence people to create sites as an easy to meet and talk to people around the world.

 

            The case study breaks down self-invasion of privacy in five steps; Description, Analysis, Interpretation, Evaluation, and Engagement. Description is the research on multiple privacy statements.  Individual control is what the user decides to post on websites, particularly personal data. Transparency is whether or not you believe the website will keep your personal data concealed rather than sharing it for profit to larger companies. Respect for Context gives consumers the right to expect companies to provide protection for their data whereas security gives the consumer rights to demand a policy for their own safety from any disclosure or hacker crimes. Analysis is basically what the company brings to the table in which companies explain their policies whether it is cookies, personal data, and the importance of children 13 years or younger as customers of their company.

 

Interpretation is what is analyzed. A prime example would be the terms and conditions, especially anything listed in small, fine print on the bottom of documents. If read, the consumer should be able to understand what they’re agreeing to before moving on. If a user cannot understand, chances are the user must take their own risks and anything is posted, the company has nothing to do about it simply because the user agreed to follow by their policy. Evaluation is all about making judgments such as considering every single privacy statement and determines whether or not the information listed is fair. Once an evaluation is made, the act of engagement comes into play. This is where the user creates a profile and enters the website.

In Conclusion, I believe consumers should be responsible for what they post. However, consumers should also have the right for protection if needed. If a business does not provide that security, more than likely, it will run out of business. Although media is mainly meant for the public, personal data should be kept private unless consent is giving by the user. There will never be true privacy, making it always a controversial issue. However, if users simply watch what is posted, there would not be a need for such demand on privacy. Always remember, anything posted online can be seen.