Internet Privacy: Or utter lack of it?

In the modern age we are faced with new issues that arise on a daily basis. One of the newest and in some peoples eyes; the most disturbing is online privacy. We used to have a few settings to set for online privacy but these days we cant seem to stay protected. We have all been there and remember when it first started. We saw pop ups and ads on the sides of websites that showed similar or exact products we had previously searched for or read about. Then it dawned on us, its not a coincidence. The INTERNET is watching what we look at and then targeting us by advertisements.

This may not seem like a huge deal but when we consider what these sites can learn over the course of a few months it can be quite scary, especially when we had no idea sites were following what we were looking at. These sites now know our daily habits, interests, hobbies, income, age, location, sex, and so much more. We are now grouped into small niche markets in order for companies to advertise and boost profits.

This all seems a bit sketchy because most of us did not know this was all happening and most don’t know how to protect themselves, this article did pew surveys and most are not happy so they give a few tips on how to stay more protected as well as talk about possible solutions like opt out policies. If we don’t want to be watched we shouldn’t be, especially our kids and young adults who don’t seem too concerned with things like this because they often don’t realize the magnitude of their importance.  And if we do then we should receive compensation for the information we are giving out. Right now it’s a one way policy and were getting the short end of the deal, even though there was and is no deal.

Another concern is the utter lack of protection on cellular devices. Its almost way scarier than computers…except they are computers, just smaller, less protected versions. These cell phones even let you be tracked by your location. They learn your day to day habits, where you shop, how long, how often, where you travel. Its quite scary especially when we see almost no benefit when these companies take our info and sell it to then advertise to us trying to entice us to buy buy buy when we should save and make responsible choices. Our capitalist society is getting worse and worse and we are quickly loosing sight of whats important for the next trinket we can buy on sale because we see and add online and “need it now.”

Modern Warfare: Not the Game

When we think of modern warfare we think of high rates of fire, big guns, night vision, laser sights, and all sorts of other stuff that’s now possible due to modern technology. This type of modern warfare may not be so modern after all. The first world is moving further and further away from using these inventions. Why? You ask, because we are moving on and perfecting the next step, internet/cyber attacks, unmanned aerial vehicles, and all sorts of other technologies we are perfecting overseas right now. With these new ways to wage war we need to redefine what is acceptable and lay new ground rules for a completely new way of battling.

Our pre digital age ethics are going to become obsolete and we need a new set of rules. We currently “try” to follow the just war doctrine which uses war as a last case option with no other choice. Some are debating the ethics of starting preemptive wars to prevent human bloodshed. Say before a war breaks out, one country will cripple another by disabling their technologies. This would reduce or eliminate bloodshed all together if the attack is well planned. This may save lifes but would actually be starting a war possibly before anything happens, this war might never even end.

The main concern is the moral issue, we are more and more reliant on technology as the days go on. If countries were fighting this type of war it would not be an all-out war with lots of bloodshed but instead would be an ongoing technology battle with each side crippling the other and jamming their systems at any chance they could. Because were all connected we are all vulnerable and there needs to be rules set up so we feel safe when were not in a war. No one should fear of all their info getting stolen online or their company shutting down because there were cyber attacks from another country during peace time. We also need to make sure because we are a superpower that we don’t unfairly use our technology against other nations during peacetime.

 In 2004 the U.S. had 150 robotic weapons in use, now the U.S. currently has over 12,000 and the number is constantly growing. If we continue to use these we are risking less American lives which is a good thing but we need to still consider that some of these robots are designed to kill. These robots will not be held accountable or have regret but take life with the push of a button. These devices should never be used outside of wartime to threaten or kill.

The digital divide is closing!....But it’s not all good news.

      It seems as if the digital divide is closing in this country.  In order to understand why and what implications are forming let’s start at the beginning. Personal computers were first in the homes of rich white families. Following them it was more wealthy white people, and then it was the middle class families who were primarily white. These individuals have had a jumpstart on the online world because they could afford the costly hardware.

      

     After a few years computers started to become more affordable, but they were still expensive so some families could afford them and some couldn’t. For the most part it was still African American families and Latino families that did not have computers.  Eventually this gap got smaller and closed so now today we see all groups within close ownership of laptops and smart phones with internet access. 

   According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle the problem now is not that enough people don’t have access to the internet, it is what they are doing online and what they aren’t doing online.Whites are primarily using the internet evenly across the board for news, entertainment, business, and so on while Latinos and African Americans seem to be trailing behind in what would be considered productive areas and surging ahead in what is considered pure entertainment. Why is this? Why is facebook, twitter, and other types of media so popular compared to reading news, checking stocks, job searches? Everyone thought the problem was that the poorer population didn’t have access and now they do they seem to still be struggling to get ahead. What went wrong and why are we still having issues if the playing field has had some leveling.

     The problem may no longer be that many don’t have access, it could be the hardware. African Americans and Latinos use cell phones heavily to access the internet, but a cell phone can’t fill out an application, a cell phone can’t design a website, it can’t do many things a real computer can and that is part of the problem. Focusing on the hardware could be the next step. Somehow we need to move away from the immediate entertainment and ease of use and look at a way to empower individuals who have been held back. Studies are showing vast differences in productiveness when you own your own home computer vs owning a smart phone, using a computer at work, or using a friends. We cant expect to fix the problem without the right product and the right product is a computer not a smart phone with internet access.

Net Neutrality

This stuff will affect us all so please have a listen!

Net Neutrality link

Does Mr. Hyde live online?

Often times being an online user allows people to come out of their shell and express themselves how they want to deep inside without fear of harassment  or negative reactions. This modern way of social media is a great way to express yourself without the fear of repercussions because you are safely behind your computer often searching or conversing with like-minded individuals….But is there a negative side? Does this online world sometimes create a doorway for Dr. Jekyll’s Mr. Hyde who lurks in the shadows preying and bullying on others?

It seems so and we are constantly hearing about online predators and online bully’s but why is this? These people are often spoken very highly of in the “real” world and show no signs of bad behavior or anger towards others.  It seems people become not only more comfortable online but sometimes it allows for a darker side to come out and play a larger role than it otherwise would have because there seem to be no direct and immediate consequences from their actions.

The latest case is from Tennessee where two young children were constantly harassed online for being gay. Sadly, the relentless hatred that was spewed over the internet towards these children was too much to bear and they took their own lives. Will tragedies like this continue to happen or will someone step in and do something? Where does the responsibility lie? Should the government, parents, schools, or who be placed in charge of this growing problem that is both heartbreaking and groundbreaking? We are faced with such difficult questions because the internet is such a relatively new forum of conversation and media in the scheme of things.

Because of these Tennessee suicides Sen. Bill Ketron of Tennessee is trying to introduce laws that would protect everyone from cyber bullying and punish those who dish it out while unfairly hiding behind their computer. This would surely put a huge dent in the problem if it didn’t solve it all together but it’s not that simple.  While everyone agrees something needs to be done not everyone believes this is the proper plan of action. Many feel it is a direct violation of our constitution and our right to freedom of speech. It could be taken too vaguely and people could be unfairly prosecuted. Who would be in charge of deciding what was hurtful and what is acceptable? Where would we draw the line? It’s a simple fact you can’t please 100% of the people 100% of the time