21st Century Transparency

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When the internet became public knowledge in the late nineteen-eighties few predicted that it would one day be held in the hand of nearly ninety percent of the American population. Today, nearly everyone in developed countries has some sort of internet using technology within an arm’s reach. While this sort of connectivity is convenient in many aspects, the internet also requires that its users sacrifice their ability to keep their information private. Privacy in the 21st century is no longer possible in using the internet personal information becomes vulnerable because of social media, technology evolution, and the inability of most to remain free of connectivity.
Social media and networking sites provide irrevocable access to the personal information that is voluntarily relinquished therein, which can compromise the privacy of the user from the moment it is uploaded to the internet. In her article “Digital Footprints on the Internet” author Shelley Moore (2012) discusses the risk of “public living” that has become a part of today’s online culture, “Very personal information is shared on the Internet, giving rise to publicizing one’s private life, not only to those considered friends but also within reach of those not even acquaintances” (p.88). The risk here involves allowing one’s personal information to be viewed by virtual strangers as well as positioning the individual’s personal life to be scrutinized, both practices can be detrimental. In making one’s personal life a public spectacle the user is opened up to adverse effects not only in their personal lives but also in their professional or academic careers. Information that can be accessed from social websites may be used to exclude people from activities and positions bas...

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...information off of the internet to the point of necessitating that that individual becomes cut off from the rest of the world. Privacy in the face of evolving technology is increasingly impossible to achieve.

References
Huigang, L., & Yajiong, X. (2010). Understanding Security Behaviors in Personal Computer Usage: A Threat Avoidance Perspective. Journal Of The Association For Information
Klitou, D. (2011). Privacy by Design and Privacy-Invading Technologies: Safegaurding Privacy, Liberty and Security in the 21st Century. Legisprudence: International Journal For The Study Of Legislation, 5(3), 297-329.
Moore, S. C. (2012). Digital Footprints on the Internet. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 27(3), 86-91
Thierer, A. (2013). The Pursuit of Privacy in a World Where Information Control is Failing. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 36(2), 409-455.

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