Millennials and Privacy Rights

The studies elaborated by this Medium article seem to confirm that Millennials see online privacy as an individualistic responsibility, and I think there’s a lot of truth to that. We’ve clicked “Agree” in response to so many different (and yet, almost identical in wording) terms of service that the whole process seems like a mindless transaction. It’s not like you can really refute any of the terms listed, so it’s much easier to click “Yes” and accept the responsibility of making sure that your information is secure on your own.

I think as Millennials, we’re more conscious about our privacy because a lot of our online presence is centered on marketing our content and posts. Whether we share content on public or private accounts, we post with the purpose of establishing and elaborating our own online brand. We want as much control over our information and who has access to it as possible, while also maintaining a realistic view that there is some data that will be collected about us whether we like it or not. The information we elect to share is mostly rooted in our branding and what we want to convey to a vaguely-defined audience.

I thought it was interesting that Medium brought up the way Millennials selectively utilize location services online, because I feel like they accurately relayed my own opinions towards it. When I’m at home, I go out of my way to restrict my location information to a broader “Dallas” if anything at all. The only times I will disclose the suburb I live in is when Snapchat releases a new geotag for it (and in that instance, only a handful of friends who already know where I live will see it), or for political campaigns. However, most of the content I share to social media is related to travel plans, concerts, and shows with specific locations. In those instances, I strangely have no qualms in directly naming a venue or city that I’m in- even when I’m still technically in Dallas.

 From my own experience, I think the perception of online privacy is very much a grey area of thought, and can be easily influenced by how we think certain details from our lives can be used tactfully to serve our online brand.

Do Millennials Care?

There is no doubt about it, millennials are avid internet users. I spend so much time online, whether it is through my phone, my laptop, my iPad, scrolling through social media, Google, or miscellaneous websites, that it's too hard to keep up with what applications and which sites are stealing my data. For instance, I had no idea that Buzzfeed aggregates quiz answers, or that those Facebook quizzes have access to your information long after you take the quiz.

Millennials have grown up in this digital age, and we know no life other than this, so I think we are just unaware and unconcerned about how websites are using our data. Personally, I go back and forth about I feel regarding privacy. Some days, I'm all about it, but then other days I just don't care. In all reality, I'm just a number, just a random profile ID, within a large pool containing thousands of people and all their data.

I think it's hard to keep a steady platform on privacy, because I don't experience any day to day consequences from these websites having access to my data. Which is scary to think about, because while I'm being ignorant about online privacy, these corporations will be altering rules, and all of a sudden these effects will be evident and detrimental.

Whoops There Goes My Data (10/25)

This set of articles reminded me of a recent episode of Note To Self, one of my favorite podcasts, where they discussed the possibility that our phones might quite literally be listening in on us. Most of us are contently floating along in cyberspace, unknowingly hemorrhaging data with every button press and mouse click. It takes something out of the ordinary to make us pause and step back to look at the bigger picture. I experienced one of these moments recently.

At work, I was ordering stickers in bulk. I perused several sites to price compare, decided on the company with the best deal, sent off my order, and life went on. The next day, as I was checking my personal Instagram account, I noticed something strange: an embedded ad for the site I just ordered the stickers from. I had never been to this site before yesterday, and I only looked at it while I was on work at a work computer. I understand this happened because I was logged into several personal accounts on my work computer including Facebook (who owns Instagram), but the experience made me pause. If it's that easy to connect my personal and work lives online, how should/will I handle this when I'm employed in a more serious job?      

So I'm faced with a problem but no solution. How can we better protect ourselves online without being Mr. Robot levels of computer genius? As the Medium article states, younger generations clearly care about this issue. Far more so than the older generations, we're the ones that are going to have to live with the ramifications of our previous actions. Most of us have posting online since we were children with our first social media accounts. While my parents younger selves remain private and inaccessible other than what they choose to share, my old MySpace bulletins from 7th grade are probably still somewhere out there waiting to cause me embarrassment. I suppose the first step to remedying this is to, as addicting as they are, stop taking those Buzzfeed quizzes.

1st and 4th Amendment rights on the line

It is fair to claim Apple's letter to consumers is polarizing. One side argues for protection of privacy and commends Apple's stand, while the other side argues for surrender of privacy in the interest of the common good. The argument is stirred by emotion. Which is more valuable, personal freedom or public safety? Is is possible the FBI used the court of public opinion and pushed Apple consumers' post 9/11 buttons to force Apple's hand?

Source: National Journal

In the wake of terrorist tragedy, it is reasonable to quickly answer, "public safety, of course." However, Apple is defending it's customers right to privacy protected under the fourth amendment.

Considering the data tracking collected by companies, do consumers sign away right to privacy, Fourth Amendment? Considering previous articles on how behavior is altered when one is aware of monitoring, are consumers voluntarily surrendering rights to free speech, First Amendment?

Privacy

Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a Customer Letter to inform Apple customers and U.S. citizens why it was so important that Apple not create an operating system to circumvent its many security features or help give the "key" to its encrypted information; because this technique provides opportunity for a back door into many other systems including those in homes, stores, and banks. Put into the wrong hands, this is a major threat to the security of American people and go against the very fundamentals of the basis of our government.

I believe that Apple was undeniably justified in not helping the U.S. government build a "back door" into its own products to protect its customers but ultimately help protect the American people. Security is important and with so many threats to our worlds physical safety, it is nice to think our devices, home, banks, and stores are for the most part, protected. 

They say millennials do not care about their privacy, however, we do. It just may seem this way because we are accustomed to technology, how it works, and the kind of surveillance it comes with. However, this request from the government goes beyond surveillance. It crosses a security and privacy boundary that is too much of an invasion and a threat to our security and freedoms as American citizens. I believe that even though it may seem that as a generation we are less private, we recognize the crossing of boundaries of surveillance into a threat to our securities and privacies and when it has the potential to undermine our basic freedoms and liberties.

Facebook's Fatal Weakness 10/27/16

Facebook has managed to change us over the last decade by providing us with a sense of online community that we hadn't experienced prior. Unfortunately, Facebook's algorithms dictate the posts that pop up in our feed and their importance to us without us knowingly consenting. We are essentially powerless against these algorithms that pay close attention to what we click, like, and follow and we are shown a feed that corresponds consequently. Amazon and Google have given us a stronger sense of individuality as we have more control over what we are shown. We tailor Amazon and Google to ourselves as Facebook does the opposite. I don't think that Facebook will go anywhere soon, but Mark Zuckerberg should be wary of how people are able to more easily put their trust in other media outlets that don't dictate our preferences for us. Because of Facebook's longevity, and the fact that many Facebook users have had an account since its genesis a decade ago, rebuilding an online community that people would be willing to forgo Facebook for would be a gigantic feat. It won't happen overnight, but at some point, I think people will want to regain control of what feeds they are shown and the types of media accounts they utilize.

Millennials and Their Privacy 10/25/16

I think it's absolutely ridiculous for millennials to be concerned about their privacy. They have grown up in a "digitally engaged" age and should know that there are repercussions for presenting every element of their lives to their social media audiences. When they get upset about potential employers looking into their social media accounts during the hiring process, it is beyond absurd. Millennials have had enough experience with the Tech Age we're  currently living in to have a very full understanding of how public and permanent their posts are. How they can be surprised that their information that they knowingly share within a very public forum can come back to haunt them blows my mind. I've recently been seeing copy and paste posts on Facebook from people up in arms about how Facebook will soon have the authority to leak account holder's posts and photos. Is this really that surprising? Any time I post anything, I'm well aware that I am making a public post. I wouldn't be posting if the content wasn't something that I cared could potentially be circulated. I posted this the other day...

I HEREBY GIVE MY PERMISSION to the Police, CSIS, NCIS, NSA, the FBI, and CIA, MI5, MI6, MI7 the RCMP, the Swiss Guard, the Priory of Scion, Anonymous, the inhabitants of Middle Earth, Agents Mulder and Scully, the Goonies, ALL the Storm Troopers, Darth Vader, the Mad Hatter, S.H.I.E.L.D, The Avengers, Thor, The Illuminati, The Men in Black, X-Men, Ghost Busters, Cthulhu, The Justice League, The United Federation of Planets, GeekNation, Gandalf and Dumbledore, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, Bigfoot, The Great Pumpkin, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Tooth Fairy, The Krampus, and all the members of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Voltron, The Groovy Ghoulies, the Thunder Cats, Buffy, Dr. Who, Hart to Hart, Mystery inc. (Scooby Doo), James Garner, Angela Landsbury, the WWF, the EPA, and even Magnum P.I., He-Man, Jay and Silent Bob, Cheech & Chong, Neo, Blade, the A Team, MacGyver and the Boondock Saints to view all the amazing and interesting things I publish on Facebook.

I'm aware that my privacy ended the very day that I created a profile on Facebook, I know that whatever I post can (and usually does) get shared, tagged, copied, and posted elsewhere because I'm THAT FANTABULOUS. If I didn't want anyone else to have it, then I wouldn't post it!😉

(I even stole this status because it was posted publicly) 💪💪...

Get a clue people! Just saying....