Blog Post #5

Journal #5

Technology has become an important part of everyday life, but it also creates serious questions about privacy. The Ted talk videos a saw for this discussion show how information shared online can have lasting consequences and how people, companies, and governments can potentially use technology to monitor or expose others. Privacy is becoming one of the most difficult issues of the digital age, because much of our personal information exists in a digital world that can be difficult to control.

One major issue is the information people voluntarily put online. What may seem like a harmless post, picture, or personal detail can remain part of a person's online life. Juan Enriquez's TED Talk, Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo, discusses how our digital lives can have a lasting presence. This is important for college students because the things we share online can become part of our identity and potentially affect our future.

The problem becomes even more serious when someone's privacy is violated intentionally. Darieth Chisolm's How Revenge Porn Turns Lives Upside Down shows how technology can be used to humiliate and harm another person. A privacy violation can be frightening, humiliating, degrading, maddening, and depressing. These problems do not only affect one person. They can also affect their friends, family, and relationships.

The videos also raise questions about surveillance. Christopher Soghoian's How to Avoid Surveillance...With Your Phone demonstrates that phones and technology can create concerns about being monitored. Glenn Greenwald's Why Privacy Matters also emphasizes why privacy is important. These issues raise an important question about what role the government should have. Governments should take privacy seriously and work to protect people from unnecessary invasions of their personal information while recognizing the concerns that come with increasingly powerful technology.

Individuals also have responsibilities when it comes to protecting their privacy. We should think carefully about what we share online and understand that information posted digitally may be difficult to take back. We should also be aware of how technology can potentially be used to monitor or expose us.

Privacy is no longer simply about keeping something hidden. It is about having control over personal information in a world where technology is everywhere. The videos demonstrate that technology can be wonderful when used responsibly, but it can also become harmful when it is turned against people. Protecting privacy therefore requires awareness from individuals, responsible behavior from organizations, and serious consideration from governments.

___________________________________________________________________________________ AI Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to help organize and improve the writing of my blog post. The information and ideas used in the post were based on my notes and the videos provided in the instructions, as well as an extra Ted Talks video involving privacy I found. No outside sources or information were added by the AI and I reviewed the AI generated content to make sure it accurately reflected the information provided and fit my opinion. I then reviewed and edited the final version of my blog post, before I submitted it.