Social Media and Privacy

I have been inspired by my comm-tech class to publish a post regarding privacy on social media, and what using social media means to the average citizen.

Currently, the internet and social media are the largest grossing industry, with thousands of new users popping up every hour. Almost a third of the world is using Facebook, and other social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Vine are on the rise. As a child, I understood that having a Facebook account would give away personal information, and that it could be potentially dangerous to put my life onto the internet for the world to see. I created my Facebook account at the age of 13, with the help of my mother, who made sure that my privacy settings were properly installed, so that a stranger's access to my account would be limited. At the time, all of these safety measures were appropriate, however now I am 16, and able to defend myself, as well as judge who and who not to associate myself with, both in the real world and online.

I am one of the many people who are not worried of their privacy online, and I am not bothered by the fact that a lot of what I do on the internet is tracked, and my data is sold by companies like Facebook. My first point of why I am not bothered by my data being sold is because I have nothing to hide, and believe that if someone is incredibly worried about their privacy, they are probably doing something wrong. If I agree to a privacy contract with a company before I use their site, then I have to accept the reality that they have the right to sell my data, or use it for whatever they want to. If anybody disagrees with that point, I would remind them that these privacy agreements are legally binding documents, that you signed up for. I have no sympathy for someone complaining about a privacy agreement, because these people chose to sign up for the website or app that they are using.

My second point is that many users of the internet seem to forget that companies running websites are just like your local shops, they are looking to offer you a service, in return for some monetary compensation. The main social media sites, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Vine, Google Plus, are all available in their best form for free, which means these companies are not being directly paid by you. I believe it is ignorant to believe these services, which cost companies millions to run, are being provided out of the kindness of these companies' hearts. Because I do not pay any money to use these social media platforms, I understand that the companies must sell off data in order to be profitable, and continue to provide free social media sites for me to use.

I conclude my opinionated piece with my personal opinion on the whole social media privacy situation, which is that if somebody is so bothered and upset by the fact their personal data is being sold to other companies or organizations, why wouldn't they just walk away from the sites, and not use the social media platforms that are available. The internet is not la la land, it is a part of the real world, and is a large industry, which means that we must be careful with our choices, and aware of what we are signing up for. For example, If I sign up to join the army, I cannot complain when I am asked to go to war, as I made the conscious decision to join the army reserve. Personally, I will never tolerate ignorance, and I cannot bring myself to be sympathetic for someone who doesn't make sure they understand the implications of their decisions, before they decide.