Have we lost our privacy?
Hmm.. I don't know.. ask the clerks running the scans and pat downs at the air port. Or ask the creator of Facebook. Ask your mom what it was like having a diary and trusting that no one would actually read it, let alone post it online!
I feel as though the internet has definitely made us make a choice between being private or letting it all out there. People will argue "you have the choice to get online, no one is forcing you.." BUT! Over my past week trying to live without the internet, I missed emails and messages that lead me to being late for important meetings and events. Things on Facebook can ruin lives, let alone ruin your privacy.
As for those saying "well you don't have to have a Facebook.."
Go to the airport. Get patted down, better yet.. just watch someone get patted down.
On my recent trip to Miami, I watched an amish woman be patted down.. REALLY?! I felt bad for the poor woman, she looked like she was going to cry! The way she was dressed, long skirt, sneakers with socks, a sweater with pockets, made her the ultimate target of a pat down. She could have had a bomb! Right.
I think that everyone would agree that yes, we do want to be safe, yes we do not want to be blown up on an airplane. But, in retrospect, why would we target people who we know in our heart would never hurt us?
After we get so far as to say "we are doing this for your safety" the government will take privacy and throw it out the window. In the novel the government is always pressing a "we are doing this for you" aspect, but by scaring people into doing what they want, they are in no way helping anyone. I think if that was not the amish woman's first plane ride, it certainly would be her last. She was scared so much that she couldn't even walk away with dignity. Maybe that is what they are trying to do to us.. Scare us and make examples out of people. Why else would people have their phone lines tapped.. they're trying to protect us.. right?
"After we get so far as to say "we are doing this for your safety" the government will take privacy and throw it out the window."
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of the whole concept of giving someone a little bit of something, a little taste of it, then them wanting the whole thing. Or, for example, like when you try helping someone out and they end up taking advantage of your help by just taking it for granted. By giving the government the ability to do something "for your safety", you are just letting them put their foot in the door. They will only "take advantage" of this opportunity and use it against us as a way of, as you mentioned, taking privacy and throwing it out the window!
I really like that you made sure to point out that we really don't have much of a choice whether or not to be linked to the internet. In many of our posts I am noticing that we all agree that the internet is one of the biggest ways people find things out about us. But without it we're lost. We miss appointments, and can't get a hold of people. It's like we're being given a choice, use the technology thats available to us and sacrifice our privacy or become hermits and attempt to live the most private lives possible.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is that people always say that we NEED to network and make relationships to be able to get a good job. Yet what we put up on the internet is used against us and ultimately screws us over of getting the job. I think that someone who is fully qualified for a job, more qualified than the others who may get it, and yet they don't get it because of a picture they posted or a comment they posted online. Extremely unfair in my opinion.
ReplyDelete"I feel as though the internet has definitely made us make a choice between being private or letting it all out there."
ReplyDeleteThe internet is so fascinating but so so so dangerous. As you mentioned, anyone can find out almost anything about you. People that hate you or are out to get you can essentially find out where you live, where you will be at what times during the day, etc. It's really a scary thought.
I do think that the internet takes away privacy but does it do anything good with this loss of privacy? Think of child molesters in your neighborhood. There are sites that can tell you exactly where they live. I feel as though in a way this is a good thing because you can be wary if you have children...but that is an invasion of their privacy...but doesn't it seem okay because the invasion of their privacy is protecting our children? There is a fine line between accepted loss of privacy and not accepted loss of privacy.
But where do we draw the line?