I Have Nothing To Hide

On the internet, privacy is nearly nonexistent. People often rub this off and don't worry about what they post online and what they use the internet for. However, they should definitely be more worried about these things because there is always someone who can find out what they are doing. People say "I have nothing to hide," and maybe as a teenager that is okay to think. But what about in 5 years when you are applying for your first job and you don't get it because there are inappropriate pictures of you on your Instagram? Also, even though we may think our pages are private there are still ways for people to access our information, and people do that every day. It is so easy for people, even strangers, to find you and learn all about you just with a few clicks. I keep my accounts private and only accept people that I know, but I know that this doesn't mean theres no way for people to see my posts. I have not been overly worried about online privacy but after some of the things I have learned in this class I have realized I should be more cautious. In a Ted Talk video that we watched, we learned how just by going on a website other websites can track you as well. People need to be more careful about what they post and what they do on the internet because things aren't always as private as they seem.

Social Media & Privacy

In the article "When Rape Goes Viral" by Ann Friedman, readers learn about several different cases where teenage girls sexual assault stories are shared on social media. In some cases, boys will post about sexually assaulting someone and be proud of what they have done and think its funny. Sexual assault is definitely not something to be proud of and if I were to ever see a post where someone was boasting about their "accomplishment" I would be disgusted. In other cases, people post about sexual assault to spread the word and share peoples stories. This is seen as a good thing because it gets their stories out, but the effects that it can have on the girls are far from positive. In some cases, photos of drunk girls naked and passed out are shared on social media and that is a complete violation of their privacy. When things are posted on the internet, they are never really gone even after they are deleted, therefore the pictures and videos that are posted of these girls are there for everyone to see and they aren't going away. Seeing themselves all over social media is probably one of the last things a sexual assault victim wants to see when she is trying to cope with what she is going through. Seeing the way that people talk about and make fun of victims on social media is sickening and I can't imagine how it makes them feel. So although I think it is a good way to spread the word about stopping sexual assaults, it can also be a very difficult thing for the victims to go through.

First Post

CS408 is a course about living in a networked world and everything that goes a long with it. In this course we will learn more about the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of technology. I am taking it to fulfill my Environment,Tech&Society Discovery requirement and am interested in learning more about the technology world.