Social Media Privacy
When Dr. Gates came to speak to our class he spoke about how we are more likely to give up our privacy. We do this when signing up for new social media platforms or when buying new types of technology. Social media sites like Facebook offer free accounts to users in exchange for their views. They can do this by letting businesses sell advertisements to account users. If you search for a snowboard online, then algorithms are used on Facebook to market that snowboard brand to your personal news feed. Dr. Gates also mentioned that there is a need to reevaluate privacy terms on new technologies like Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Siri home systems because these devices have record everything they hear. This technology can be used to for personal marketing, like if you talk about going to Snowshoe, WV for the end of the season, then you may hear advertisements for tickets or deals on hotel rooms. You may take extra careful precautions to protect your online privacy, but Dr. Gates ended his lecture with a simple reminder that ‘your post online are just as safe as your most responsible friend.” It is important to keep this in mind because if you post a picture or a video of yourself doing an awesome snowboard stunt, then it is left to the mercy of your followers. You may not be able to avoid privacy violations, but just being aware of the violations may help you to protect your online information.
