Issue of Privacy

After reading the articles relating to the issue of protecting your identity and your privacy in a society where everything is based online, I found myself beginning to wonder whether people knew more about me than I thought. Of course privacy has always been an issue that I have been concerned with regarding my Facebook profile and other online activity, I never realized there are so many options available to people to help them get ahold of your personal information without you ever knowing about it. There was one statement within the article "Did the Internet Kill Privacy?" that really struck me during my reading, as it stated, "we're not losing that control … we're giving it away - every time we buy with credit cards, use cell phones which signal our location, or post pictures on social networks like Facebook. Just sending an e-mail may make public private information." Unintentionally or not, people are making themselves vulnerable to privacy invasions just by partaking in online activities such as being a member of a social network or using the Internet to purchase items online.

While I have always been cautious with the use of Facebook by making everything on my profile private to individuals I did not know, never had it dawned on me that there were ways people could use to get around these settings. Although I have heard stories before of people getting trouble for things they posted online, Ashley Payne's story really hit home for me because she is in the same profession I hope to be in one day. Hearing that just one mindless action can cause such severe consequences makes me think twice about what activities I engage in online. No picture, no status, no magazine subscription is losing your job, or your right to privacy at that.