Privacy
Our world is digital. I mean very digital. Imagine your day without your phone or laptop – difficult right? Through the course material this week, I have to wonder if this method of communication and living is sustainable. Many of us rely on smartphones to wake us up, keep us accountable, chat with friends, bank, get to and from work with expected bus arrival and departure times and much more. The recent Crowdstrike outage that impacted millions of Microsoft Windows computers showed us just how unprotected our systems are as major sectors of our economy came to a screeching halt: airlines, banks, hospitals, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, retail and more. Many are still in recovery mode a week after the issue.
What stands out to me from this week is privacy. We accept cookies before interacting with websites, but a majority of us aren’t knowledgeable on what we just agreed to. In our world of technology that sees advancements daily, are we putting our daily lives at risk by our dependence on digital technology?
Take the issue of privacy. Everyone holds a difference of opinion when it comes to what privacy is. At the very least, all adults, but especially young adults need to be educated on the risks of using social media platforms. How can they protect themselves from corporate spies and individual spies who would seek to harm them through the use of their digital data? We teach 16-year olds how to drive a car, but many are turned loose on the internet with minimal guidance on how to be a defensive and safe driver on the internet superhighway. And don't get me started on the mental health impact of spending hours on the internet.
