Every two weeks Bloggers unite for a day to write about a communal topic. This week LetsBlogOff asks the question what is this thing called privacy?
I think there is a definite line that was drawn between my generation and the next youngest. Social media wasn't prevalent when I was growing up. If I took a picture I had to wait to have it developed before being able to see it. I mailed checks to pay my bills. I never completed an application, for anything, on line.
I love the internet and most of what it offers but I am also wary of it. I know anything I type, on any forum including this blog, is out in the universe forever. I have a friend, age 38, who doesn't seem to mind and posts all kinds of things to her Facebook page. Things I would NEVER post. Personally I am not a fan of Facebook and only have a page because so many of my friends who don't live near me post pictures of their kids. I rarely update my wall. I am very careful with Twitter, LinkedIn and now Google +. Potential employers, mortgage lenders, apartment complexes, credit card companies, insurance companies are all now searching social media before approving applicants.
It scares me that since I have been shopping on line for a pair of boots for the past few weeks I now see ads pop up on websites I visit that are all about shoes and boots.
Other parts of my life also have less privacy. I remember when I applied and was hired for a job at a dentist office on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, FL. I was 20. In order to work in Palm Beach I had to have an ID card to get on the island. I was fingerprinted for the first time in my life to work for a DENTIST. These days most of us are subject to a urine test at anytime by our employers. When I walk down a street I now assume that I am on film. Either a business with security cameras or a person with a cell phone camera for whatever reason.
I do feel that my privacy rights are slowly being stripped away and it concerns me. I wonder what the United States will be like in 20 years. Will the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights still be in effect? Will I be able to peacefully protest for my beliefs? Yes I wonder.
Please take a moment to read what the other participants in Lets Blog Off feel about Privacy.
Nice article Ginny, but seeing I am short on time - in regards to your shopping for boots, you have three options; flush your internet cookies & history regulary, run a secondary browser with the privacy settings set to prevent said tracking, or shop via "in-private" browsing.
ReplyDeleteHey Ginny, good post and important questions to ponder. I've had this in mind over the past couple weeks after reading a related article. In most of my social media activity I represent not only myself, but my business as well. I try to keep that in mind. It only takes an internet search for someone to form a quick opinion of me based on the things I post. I find myself "biting my tongue" on the web quite frequently.
ReplyDeleteSean - Thanks!
ReplyDeletePaul - Right there with you!
I remember having to wait for photos to be developed! Wow, those days seem so long ago sometimes. Can't imagine 20 years from now, kinda scary. Great post, good things to think about.
ReplyDelete