Blog post #5 - Privacy

 An “Electronic tattoo” is very real, and extremely common in affecting people. I have always heard people say “watch what you post, it will always come back to you”, but I never knew the seriousness of it.

How do these issues affect you? Your friends and family?

 This affects everyone who uses social media including me, my family, and my friends. I was unaware for a very long period of time that all of my phone calls were being recorded, without my permission or me even knowing. This is what happens every time we make a phone call, or do quite about anything on our cell phones, whether it is making a phone call, sending a text, or posting on instagram/tik tok. Another example of an “electronic tattoo” is what we choose to put out there. A lot of people have a hard time understanding that once you put something on social media or online, it is there forever. Even if you deleted it, people are able to screenshot it, share it, etc. which can cause permanent damage if it is something that you are not comfortable with being on social media anymore. All of your activity online traces back to you, which is why everyone should be more cautious about what is being put out there.

What should the government be doing about these issues?

I believe that the government should not have access to every single phone call and move we make on our phones, and they should only have access when there is a reason for them to do so. Privacy is important, and something that every person deserves to have. When there is a suspicion, or a crime investigation that is tracked back to someone I believe the government should be able to access information, but only in situations like that. 

What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy?

I wish there were more ways to protect ourselves online, but unfortunately there are not many ways for us to prevent the government from listening in on our conversations and watching what we do. Because of this, I feel that it is important that we do as much as we can, as in double checking what you are posting and making sure you are not going to regret it later. Once one person sees it, it can be very hard to take it away and it can follow you for the rest of your life. As of right now being careful is a top priority considering “electronic tattoos” are real.