#privacyparadox

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Facebook beschikte vroeger een privacysetting waarmee gebruikers zichzelf konden afschermen van vreemden. Als je niet gevonden wou worden, kon je jezelf uit de zoekfunctie van Facebook verwijderen. Andere Facebookgebruikers konden jouw profiel dus niet terug vinden door jouw naam in te voeren bij de zoekfunctie.  Deze privacysetting is volgens Facebook overbodig geworden, omdat men via andere manieren kan worden opgezocht. Het social media kanaal gaf aan dat ze andere privacysettings hebben, waarmee je bijvoorbeeld controle hebt over de visibiliteit van elke post die je plaatst. 

Dit is een van de laatste aankondigingen van Facebook’s so called “privacy-saga”. Op zich geen grote verandering, maar door veel kleine veranderingen door te voeren is de gebruiker in de war. Mensen zitten vast in de privacy paradox. Moeten instellingen en voorwaarden niet meer gebaseerd worden op het principe van informed consent? (Joke)

When it comes to privacy in the digital age, there are two things which are bothering me. First, that there is no transparency whatsoever about what happens with the data that we are feeding the Internet with every single day. Just today, I wrote my phone number via Facebook message, bought concert tickets by putting in my bank details on a website, talked about my personal life in every detail to a close friend via WhatsApp and sent weird looking selfies to my family. Where is all this data going? Who is reading our messages, looking at our pictures? What is their intention? And, most importantly: do they even care about it? Why should my personal life be interesting to them? Since the average Internet user does not have an answer for these questions, I think it is safe to conclude that there is no consciousness for how we are handling our data, and this is the second aspect which I am concerned about. This is also the point where the paradox inherent to my keyword comes into play.

As I already mentioned in my previous post, we do not see the risks that could be connected with how openly we spread our personal information on the Internet. We see the advantages now and do not think about the possible risks it could hold for us in the near future. What we are dealing with here is an abstract problem. Also becoming clear is that we lost our concept of privacy. We are acting in an inconsistent way. Many people would post their mobile phone number publicly on their Facebook wall. How many of them would just write it on the blackboard in the lecture hall?

With the keyword Privacy Paradox I would like to demonstrate that these are issues concerning the 21st century which should not be underestimated. Many relations can be drawn between the Privacy Paradox and other current phenomena which are significant for our time. Taking for example the keyword foodporn, which also has been mentioned on this blog, the problem of the Privacy Paradox can be illustrated perfectly. Even though at first sight both of the keywords do not seem to be related, there is a clear link between them.

Foodporn describes the act of posting a picture of your food on a social network, sharing it with the Internet and allowing everybody to see and to comment on what you have been eating. Posting your food can be seen as an instrument to socialise in the Internet, generating followers and likes. For me, foodporn is one of many signs showing that our concept of privacy has changed. On the Internet, somehow it seems to be perfectly normal getting approval for your meal. Apart from the Internet however, it would be seen as weird if not even disturbing if somebody would come over to you in the cafeteria, saying “Hey you, I really like what you are eating there! Hashtag Foodporn!”

With this example, it might become obvious that the concepts of privacy in the real and in the virtual world differ. However, it does not seem that there are any risks included. When it comes to other topics though, giving away your data can be affecting you in a serious way, especially regarding the development of technologies in the near future. To explain what I mean by this, I want to give another example. Let’s say you like to do extreme sports, climbing the highest mountains or jumping off cliffs all over the world. Since nothing is really lived unless it is posted on Facebook, you are sharing publicly a dozen of pictures about these activities every now and then. One day, you get mail from your insurance company, telling you that in the future you will have to pay more money for you insurance. The reason? You can figure it out yourself.

Of course, this does not seem like something, which could happen to us. Anyhow, it is a realistic example of what we might have to expect in the coming years, if we do not fight for more data security and for more transparency about what is happening to our information. It is important that there is awareness in the society about these issues and with the Privacy Paradox I would like to generate it.

When it comes to privacy in the digital age, there are two things which are bothering me. First, that there is no transparency whatsoever about what happens with the data that we are feeding the Internet with every single day. Just today, I wrote my phone number via Facebook message, bought concert tickets by putting in my bank details on a website, talked about my personal life in every detail to a close friend via WhatsApp and sent weird looking selfies to my family. Where is all this data going? Who is reading our messages, looking at our pictures? What is their intention? And, most importantly: do they even care about it? Why should my personal life be interesting to them? Since the average Internet user does not have an answer for these questions, I think it is safe to conclude that there is no consciousness for how we are handling our data, and this is the second aspect which I am concerned about. This is also the point where the paradox inherent to my keyword comes into play.

As I already mentioned in my previous post, we do not see the risks that could be connected with how openly we spread our personal information on the Internet. We see the advantages now and do not think about the possible risks it could hold for us in the near future. What we are dealing with here is an abstract problem. Also becoming clear is that we lost our concept of privacy. We are acting in an inconsistent way. Many people would post their mobile phone number publicly on their Facebook wall. How many of them would just write it on the blackboard in the lecture hall?

With the keyword Privacy Paradox I would like to demonstrate that these are issues concerning the 21st century which should not be underestimated. Many relations can be drawn between the Privacy Paradox and other current phenomena which are significant for our time. Taking for example the keyword foodporn, which also has been mentioned on this blog, the problem of the Privacy Paradox can be illustrated perfectly. Even though at first sight both of the keywords do not seem to be related, there is a clear link between them.

Foodporn describes the act of posting a picture of your food on a social network, sharing it with the Internet and allowing everybody to see and to comment on what you have been eating. Posting your food can be seen as an instrument to socialise in the Internet, generating followers and likes. For me, foodporn is one of many signs showing that our concept of privacy has changed. On the Internet, somehow it seems to be perfectly normal getting approval for your meal. Apart from the Internet however, it would be seen as weird if not even disturbing if somebody would come over to you in the cafeteria, saying “Hey you, I really like what you are eating there! Hashtag Foodporn!”

With this example, it might become obvious that the concepts of privacy in the real and in the virtual world differ. However, it does not seem that there are any risks included. When it comes to other topics though, giving away your data can be affecting you in a serious way, especially regarding the development of technologies in the near future. To explain what I mean by this, I want to give another example. Let’s say you like to do extreme sports, climbing the highest mountains or jumping off cliffs all over the world. Since nothing is really lived unless it is posted on Facebook, you are sharing publicly a dozen of pictures about these activities every now and then. One day, you get mail from your insurance company, telling you that in the future you will have to pay more money for you insurance. The reason? You can figure it out yourself.