Users of the internet and other social networking sites, voluntarily relinquish personal information to millions of other users and businesses. Unbeknownst to many, these businesses collect user information for marketing purposes. These businesses are not responsible for the overt use of the internet and sharing of information by users, and the government is not liable either. Online users are solely responsible for the lack of user privacy on social networking sites.
Privacy is “the right of people to control what details about their lives stay inside their own homes and what leaks to the outside” (Barnes). Social media includes both social software and social networking. The software allows users to communicate directly and engage in and track conversations on the internet while they occur. Social media consists of social networking sites, instant messaging, text messaging, and more. Privacy and social networking are words and concepts that cannot and were not ever meant to mix. Privacy is personal. Social media is public. Online users are at fault for the lack of privacy on networking sites because users freely share their personal information on social media, the sites are public spaces, those who expect privacy on the internet are uninformed, and the expectation of privacy on the internet, now and when it was first created, is an illusion.
Social media sites allow users to provide personal information, and users freely offer it. Two websites that gather extensive amounts of personal information include Facebook and MySpace. Facebook is a forum where individuals can connect others. Users provide a profile of themselves which can include a variety of personal information and could include name, address, phone number, email and place of employment. Facebook users also share photos, favorites and personal thoughts. MySpace is similar to Facebook as it allows users to create a profile. MySpace users also communicate via email, blogs, instant messaging, bulletins and groups. Both of these communication links place personal information on the internet for others to view. Providing such information is a choice.
Users share personal information on social media sites, and then complain about privacy. Users complain about the surveillance the internet allows for the government and businesses; yet they continue to use the internet and other social media. Users complain that their private thoughts are monitored and their every move is tracked; yet they continue to log in to Google, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and any new technology where private information is disclosed without a second thought. The internet and social media sites are public forums. In public spaces, there should be no expectation of privacy.
Internet and social media users should not expect privacy. Privacy is the right “to determine whether, when, how and two whom one’s personal information is to be revealed”. The internet is a world wide web of computers that connect and allow for the exchange of information. With millions of users online, the internet becomes a public space. A public space is defined as a space that is open and accessible to everyone. In a public space, the expectation of privacy is limited, or even nonexistent. In fact, expecting privacy in a public space is not a realistic expectation. Sharing information in a place where millions of others have access is not like writing personal thoughts in a journal kept in a nightstand or keeping important papers in a lockbox.
On Twitter, users post tweets for millions to view. On YouTube, users share video content that can also be viewed by millions of people. Another social media site that is an example of a public space is Tumblr. On Tumblr, users post memes and photographs that may be previewed by millions of others. These sites, as well as the previously mentioned Facebook and MySpace, are areas open to the public. Information, photos, videos, personal information and personal thoughts are disclosed on these sites. A user should not have an expectation of privacy when using these sites and sharing personal information with the public. I would not share my personal information to a stranger in a line at the supermarket or on a bench at the local park. Sharing something in a public space like these would be similar to sharing personal information on the world wide web. An expectation of privacy in a public space is simply based on ignorance and illusion.
Even as technology continues to grow rapidly, and common sense would reveal that greater technology and advances would allow for more intrusions of privacy, users fail to protect their personal information either with laissez faire attitudes or ignorance. Many internet users do not think twice about what information they share on websites. The reason for these could be twofold. First, many users are young and have not been educated about how the internet actually processes and stores information. When they share information, they have no idea of the consequences. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is not an excuse to blame others. Those who are not educated on the process in which the internet gathers information are not excused from effects of their behavior and how it eliminates privacy. Second, many users simply do not care that the information they share on the internet is accessible by millions, including businesses and the government. A casual or laid-back attitude about providing personal information on the internet is common among users. This attitude clearly allows for blame to be placed on the user for lack of privacy. However, privacy on the internet may also be an illusion.
Social media creates an illusion of privacy. An illusion is a deception or misperception of a thing. Many users have a false belief that the internet is private. Users of social media sites who use the sites exclusively or predominately for recreation have an enhanced illusion of privacy on these sites. These users are not aware of the risks of sharing personal information, and thus share the information without pausing. Although these same users may say that they value privacy, they still share the information. Some authors claim that there is a disconnect between what they say and what they do. Teenagers are especially culpable to this concept. And, it is teenagers that spend the most time of social media sites.
Users of social networking should not expect privacy on the internet. When the internet was first introduced, users were enticed by the possibilities and the connections that the internet could offer. Users were expecting to eliminate middlemen and find greater opportunities for competition (Taylor). This may have occurred, but along with this comes the loss of privacy.
The government and other businesses benefiting from the personal information shared on the internet are not at fault for the ever increasing level of privacy. The behavior of users is tracked by the government to find “bad” guys while marketing companies monitor the same to increase sales. The information is freely and voluntarily made available to these business and the government by internet users. Divulging information on the internet absolutely makes one personally accountable for their own privacy.
Social media has almost become the predominate means of interpersonal communication today, most especially for teenagers. Users are the ones who give up their privacy through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, e-mail, calendars, and Gmail contacts. Each of these internet websites and social media sites sell ads based on information users input. Users also provide the address of their location once they log into the internet. No user is forced to provide this information. The government does not input an individual’s user name and password and force users online. The businesses that provide these services do not check the agreement to the terms of services. In fact, if users would see the reality, read the contents of the agreement, and think before providing personal information, privacy would not be an issue of concern.
Users of the internet and other social networking sites, voluntarily relinquish personal information to millions of other users and businesses. These users are exclusively at fault for the lack of privacy on networking sites. Users voluntarily share their personal information on social media. The internet is a public space where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Falling for an illusion of privacy is no reason to blame others for the lack of privacy. Businesses and the government are not to blame for the misinformed and careless attitudes that make privacy an illusion.
Works cited
Barnes, Susan B. "A privacy paradox: Social networking in the United States." First Monday 11.9 (2006). <http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/1394/1312%2523>.
BusinessDictionary.com. 2016. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/privacy.html>.
Taylor, Astra. How the Internet Is Transforming from a Tool of Liberation to One of Oppression. 4 August 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/astra-taylor/internet-oppression-liberation_b_5449838.html>.
