The Wonderfully Dangerous World of Technology

After watching multiple TED talks surrounding the topic of privacy in our online information, I was very scared to realize that most of what we post out there is available for anyone and everyone to see. My parents allowed me to get my own Instagram account at the age of thirteen, something I now wish they were more strict about. I would post weird collages, and pictures that I look back on with embarrassment. Those pictures and videos are still on the Internet, and its scary to think that your online footprint really does stay alive forever.

In the first TED talk titled, "Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo", it features a lesson on the concept of electronic tattoos. This is described as when you take a picture of someone randomly, you can further access their name and information. Facial recognition is taking over and suddenly you are on the Internet without maybe intending to be. I think that the public needs to be aware of this and become more careful with what they post because it could oftentimes be taken in the wrong context by someone whether that be a teacher, co-worker, family member, friend or future employer. Another topic that was touched upon was the idea that you should not look too far into the past of a person you meet, because their online presence may not be what you want to see.

The second TED talk titled, "The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You", it discussed the shocking relation between the high tech military equipment reaching the local police forces and being used to keep track of valued information on citizens across the US. This surveillance equipment is tracking our location in a way that has never before been possible. Our information used to be private but now the government is looking behind our closed doors to track every plate that passes by to see where we are traveling, when we go, and often who we are with. It is crazy to see how much they follow us, even when people are only going about their daily lives of work and their family.

The third TED talk titled, "How to Avoid Surveillance.. with the Phone in your Pocket", spoke about how first and foremost, our phones were wired for surveillance by the government to record every call we make, and every person we have spoken to. In the past few years, companies such as Apple have made their products even harder to tap into making things like your text messages, almost impossible for others to hack and read. Apple cannot even see the messages themselves, as well when you use Facetime or the audio function. It was most shocking to me that most countries governments believe that these encryption's should be eliminated in order for the government to have access to every persons phone calls, text messages, and video calls. The government fears the dangerous time we live in and how easy it is to communicate with one another and people across the globe, but that should not mean that people's privacy doesn't matter. We all use the same communication devices so we need to decide if we want everything out there in the open or keep it private. I agree in the idea that its better to build the networks we use as secure as possible, and I hope that they remain to be constructed that way.

The fourth TED talk titled, "How Revenge Porn Turns Lives Upside Down", discussed cyberbullying in the form of digital domestic violence. This is when one member in a relationship gone bad use different methods of posting photos and videos that show their ex-significant other in a degrading form. They post all of this information online without your consent. However, it is more alarming that there are no laws in place against these revenge porn actions, when these posts lead women to take suicide, spend months in courts, and have their naked body exposed for the world to see when it would take months to take it down off the internet.. but does anything ever really leave the internet?

Overall, the Internet is a dark and scary place. I agree in saying that technology has done some wonderful things for our world, but we can also really see that it can be cruel when turned against us. When your photo has been unknowingly taken, location been compromised, your privacy violated, and your images posted for the world to see, it can take a tool on your identity. The technology we have access too should not be taken for granted, but we should also keep our guards up with how we choose to use it.