Social Media and Privacy

Social Media can certainly be used to aide a great deal of people in finding justice for certain crimes. Whether it's simply making more people aware of a growing concern, or used to identify a criminal,it certainly has its benefits. However, when I see stories of 'Rape gone Viral'  or the latest beat down video on World-star, it makes me sick to my stomach. People share these stories and find entertainment at others expenses and never consider the repercussions of these videos being posted online. As if it weren't bad enough to be the victim of such a horrendous crime, to have everybody on the internet have access to the video and even the victims identities is saddening. Although I can't personally say this has happened to me, I do know a good friend who has been the victim of a similar crime, and saw the painful after effects. After a video of her getting jumped was posted online, it quickly made it's way to various Blogs and social media outlets. While other people got a real kick out of the whole ordeal, I saw her enter a deep depression and even transfer schools due to the sheer embarrassment brought on by the video not only being published but going viral. 

Imagine having your name associated with a video of you getting assaulted and finding peoplenot sympathizing   with you, but instead laughing at it. Not only do your peers have access to such a video, but also family members, future employers, etc. All these videos do is provide a painful reminder of that unfortunate incident, interfering with the victims ability to move past it. First of all, I would hope that such a crime would not be committed in the first place. But most of all, I would hope that if someone were to witness such an event, that instead of filming the ordeal they would instead help the victim. Technology enables us to inform authorities and even take a picture of the assaulters but more often than not these videos are simply posted to their respective media pages so they can get a few likes and be momentarily popular. I wish that the people who compromise others identity after horrific events such as assault or rape, would pause and think about what would/will happen to that victim once that information is released. After all, everything that's posted to the internet can never be deleted so discretion is certainly advisable. 

Nothing to Hide

Although I would agree that I don't necessarily have anything to hide, that doesn't mean I like people looking. I believe in this day and age technology allows people to dig much deeper into your personal life than most people would believe. I don't have any incriminating photos of myself or inappropriate comments/ statuses, but again, I would rather not have that information accessed by most of the public. As a junior who is currently seeking summer internships, I know that many companies do searches on potential candidates so I try to keep my online image clean. However, as demonstrated in the in class film the other day, Government, Businesses, and even average tech savvy people are able to access a large amount of information. Some information I don't necessarily care about, but things such as my financial status, personal preferences, and even information as to where I am and where I live which I believe should not be accessible in my opinion. I worry that if this information where to get into the wrong hands that it could possibly have dire consequences. I could potentially have my identity stolen or if someone wished to do me harm, they could find my or my families whereabouts. It is important to me that I still have my own privacy and that whatever I share on social media with my friends, or even my emails addressed to a specific participant, should remain exclusive to that group.

While I am adamant on having my own online privacy, I do understand that much of this monitoring is for the safety of the nation (Which I support). However, I would question some of the practices of some corporations selling this information the way Facebook does. I think it was wrong of Mr Zuckerburg to comply with the CIA and release these records to the government. They were trusted with peoples personal information and simply handed all of that over without any question of whether or not it was morally right to do so. Perhaps the most troubling thing about that was the fact that they did not notify anyone about this release of information. I know if I were warned of this impending action, I would have deleted my Facebook before any records were made of it. I respected Twitter and their handling of their similar situation. They at least notified certain people that the Gov was attempting to pursue them and gave them an opportunity to take down their account or delete their posts about whistleblowing activities.

First Blog Test

This is an interesting read about the the future of computing; including also the possibility of computer chips in the human brain. What do you readers think about this?

http://www.infowars.com/a-chip-in-the-head-brain-implants-will-be-connecting-people-to-the-internet-by-the-year-2020/