Privacy and the Internet

Professor Chun asked us why we felt safe behind the window that is the internet. I can't necessarily pin point the reason, but I see that we have a lot of faith in technology. Take for example cellphones. They allow us to make phone calls at any time and any place. We never question what we say when we are on the line with someone, but we should. Sometimes our conversations are private, but we have them in a public space. Everyone can hear us say things that we probably wouldn't say out loud. At one point, phone calls were made in the privacy of our own homes and now it's evolve. Is this why we forget it is no longer private?

The internet was never private, but the idea behind it was beyond our grasp. Is this why we never saw the dangers behind it? Take for example Facebook. It is a great way to stay connected, but the safe space that it promotes is in no way that. Facebook was initially limited to Harvard students and it was later expanded to other Ivy Leagues. Now it is available to anyone 13 and over. It has over 120 million active users worldwide. Anyone in your network can see your activities without your knowledge. You have to go through a lot to limit your profile properly. I can start blaming Facebook for expanding their audience, but its also not their fault that many of my family members are on Facebook. Facebook loves exposing them as much as they love exposing themselves.