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Post 9 - Privacy In The Digital Age

 Privacy In The Digital Age


I didn't realize how naive I was about the internet until I took this class. Yes, I knew the basics - don't email your life savings to any alleged foreign princes and never under any circumstances give out any private details. All my social media accounts are private and I make sure to never add someone I didn't know. My digital footprint has always been something I was uber cautious about because I have had ingrained into my head since I was young that whatever you put out into the interwebs stays there forever. 

 I never realized how much I was giving up unintentionally. 

After the conversations we had in class about search engines like google, which up until that day in class I had never even batted an eye overusing, tracking all your searches I truly began to ponder the amount of security and privacy I had online. The conversation about Facebook, and how even after you close down the tab with Facebook open the site still tracks you and your searches only made me more concerned. Then, these ted talks pushed me over the edge.

I feel vulnerable, exposed. Like even my stupid searches about how to spell certain words or baking conversions could be taken and misconstrued in a way far beyond what I was aware of. The fact that a police department could make an assumption about me depending on where I drive my car, that my data is going to outlive me, that without me knowing it people could lawfully read my email, and probably the scariest one, that our telephones have been created for the purpose of surveillance, and not only governments but hackers as well can listen in on your calls, read your texts, and all-around intercept your communication your family and friend. 

It feels as though a line has been crossed, but it is all perfectly legal.

Learning this has prompted me to take my privacy online more seriously. Whether that be downloading a more secure browser, making sure I don't save password information onto my laptop, or making sure I double-checked I log out of any computer I use. My security and privacy are important to me, and while it has made me abundantly more nervous, I am so thankful this class has made me more aware. 

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