“Get the hell out of my room!” This is something I often hear from my brother when I venture into his room. This statement implies that he does not want to be bothered and he most likely wants something that everyone else in the world wants…privacy. However, in this day and age privacy is something that is dwindling right in front of our very eyes. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, privacy is “the quality or state of being apart from company or observation.” This is definitely a plausible explanation but I feel privacy is something more. People want privacy because it is a natural function of being a human. It’s hard to describe, but it is a certain feeling we want when we begin to feel uncomfortable. It can be considered a desire to achieve a preferred state of balance. But what is a person to do when the issue of privacy is moved from the real world to the digital world?
The internet plays host to a number of devices that can record your every move. Internet privacy can be compromised through cookies, browsing profiles, IP addresses, ISP’s, and data logging (Wikipedia 2007). Rather than discuss each one of these, it is important to understand that these internet related entities can severely (or even totally eliminate) your privacy online. When I say online privacy, I mean online shopping, website history, e-mail, and overall online habits. Computer hackers and many major corporations can obtain your valuable information and use it to their advantage. It is sad and frustrating, but it is a reality. Unfortunately people do not do much to prevent such occurrences from happening. MSNBC.com states, “Only a tiny fraction of Americans – 7 percent, according to a recent survey by The Ponemon Institute – change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy.” (Sullivan, 2006). It’s scary to know that so many Americans neglect to protect their personal privacy.
I, on the other hand am not among the remaining 93 percent. I know I cannot fully protect myself on the internet if I want to fully use it to its potential, but I do take certain measures in order to protect my personal information. I never shop online (I much prefer to buy things in person where I can physically see the product), I always do work on secure connections, I use safer web browsers such as Firefox to help protect against malicious spyware, and I refrain from giving out personal information wherever I can. It’s not much, but it is something that the everyday person doesn’t do. However I am not some paranoid person who always suspects that someone is out to get me. Like everyone else, I still use the internet as though it were a natural part of my life. Fortunately, with my safe internet habits always in mid, I have never been in a scenario where my internet privacy has been treaded on. People say the best offense is a good defense. I happen to agree with this and avoiding disastrous situations has thus far been a success. Many of my friends and family have a similar state of mind so I do not know how they would react if they had an invasion on their privacy. I would imagine they would fight against the actions though, as I know I would. The best thing a person can do regarding anything in life is to educate themselves. Knowledge gives people the power to do anything. MSNBC.com adds that, “People can't make intelligent (privacy) choices” (Acquisti, 2006). People would be able to make intelligent (privacy) choices easily, if only they knew more about how the internet works.
References
Internet privacy. (2007, February 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:26, February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Internet_privacy&oldid=108031912
Sullivan, B. (2006, October 17). MSNBC. Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/
Merriam-Webster Online. (2007, February 14). Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://www.m-w.com/
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