We live in an age of information and with this comes a great responsibility on what we post and do on public spaces such as Facebook. Social networking is just another buzz word to perpetuate hegemony, because all your friends are doing it you should too. This is the message you hear all the time. Here is a quote from an executive from Google “Don’t worry about what you post, tweet, and show off because you should just get use to it, there is no privacy”. Really! We should just get used to our privacy being invaded. How about the article Kids, the internet, and the end of privacy where a scientist states that the older generations are Jealous. Really!!! Jealous? Are we forgetting our history people? Why do you think our folks tell us to keep things private? How about persecutions and manipulation from social groups or government entities? Yes, this may sound like paranoia, but our forefathers had a reason to keep their lives private, because they lived through both World Wars, communism, and even the Mc Carthy era. These times in history meant life or death for your grandparents and parents before them. We may live in a time for peace, but privacy still matters. What you do on the internet can affect your life forever, such as losing your identity, your job, or even being stalked by a predator.
The bigger question is why do you think big business wants your information and are willing to pay Google or Facebook a lot of money for it?
Think about it, these corporations would not be investing billions if there were no value in it. Yes, it is fair to say that social networking has its pros by allowing people to be heard, seen, and become famous, and this great. We are able to share information with friends and find out about what the other person is doing, but with age comes inexperience of the past and the world around them. Why do you think Google perpetuates and encourages the use of social networks? Where there is information to sell there is power and money. Have you ever thought about what strangers are doing with your information? For example, the video below is an interview with Google CEO Eirc Schmit regarding privacy. He mentions a few key things here: He states that YOU should know better that YOUR information is being used and if YOU don’t like it YOU should not be doing it and by law the government has access to this information too. My point is, you don’t have complete control over what is on the internet and who puts it there or how it is seen. On the other hand, it can be a friend or stranger bad mouthing YOU and YOU dont have control over that. Something to think about.
