Privacy in the Modern Age

As modern electronic technology develops rapidly, the bewildering amount of information has become one of the biggest irritations in daily life. We have all experienced days when Google masters what we’re browsing, Facebook knows our preference and telephone harassment constantly bombarded. Sharing is the norm, and secrecy is out. Opinions differ about whether loss of privacy is an increasingly serious problem in the modern world. Boosters point that the lack of privacy as well as security on the Internet poses a threat to our personal financial details stolen by hackers. As our details have been sold to third parties by Internet providers, we’re becoming increasingly transparent and being exposed to all kinds of abhorrent advertisements and spam mails. The mass media will stop at nothing to capture private information in order to satiate those unhealthy consumer curiosities. Moreover, constant surveillance is unsettling and pressurizing, which is damaging to our psychological health, thus resulting in people’s unwillingness to express themselves. It’s not all gloom and doom, however. Notwithstanding the bother mentioned above, the flow of information and data has effectually facilitated our lives. It’s the use of data that allows Google Maps to successfully navigate us through congested traffic. Businesses can also use it to inform their products and adverts more to the tastes of the individual consumer. Research and innovation becomes immensely easier. The technology of big data tracing undertaken by Chinese government allows authorities to obtain information on all close contacts in a very short period of time and respond accordingly, such as shutting down communities where confirmed cases live, thereby curbing the further spread of the epidemic. In addition, if all our medical statistics were free to search for online, people looking to trial drugs and treatments would need only search “People with X condition” to find appropriate data. The more data you have access to, the easier it is to spot patterns and gain insight. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether data is a trapped bird that needs to be set free, or a dangerous beast better kept under a strong lock. Yet the public documentation of our lives has become the norm and the torrent of “dataism” cannot be blocked any more. Get accustomed to this modern age and keep an eye on your privacy as far as possible.