Privacy Online and Off

 Privacy is crucial in the everyday life of a human being. It is important that people can feel like they have somewhere to go where they are not being watched and can act fully like themselves. Without privacy, people can lose their minds trying to find somewhere to go where their information can be kept confidential. 

In the TED Talk videos, our privacy is discussed. We leave a digital footprint wherever we go. Most of our everyday lives are tracked and we are unaware of it. Different forms of communication are being documented for resources for the government. This all sounds very scary and alarming, and it is. 

I feel that my privacy has been invaded and it affects me directly. Before watching the TED Talk with Christopher Soghoian, I did not consider how my phone calls were being tracked. This feels like I have never had a conversation between just me and the individual I called. Instead, someone somewhere was listening in on my conversation, tracking me. 

My friends and family cannot feel like they are alone. Even when we avoid being tracked by not using phones, the technology that surrounds us in the everyday world still exists. By owning a car, you are putting yourself at risk of being tracked. There are cameras everywhere that take pictures of you without your consent. They are there for our "safety" or to help out the government track certain vehicles. I think this is still an invasion of privacy. 

The government should stop trying to be as involved in our daily lives. There are some things that should be kept private and not shared with others. We should not be worried about our phone calls being tracked when we just want to call a friend and discuss a private topic. Or if we want to search for something online, we should not have to worry about it being tracked and stored. 

There is not much that we can do to avoid this invasion of privacy. We can try to use fake information when a website asks for our email or name and date of birth to avoid tracing. Clearing the cookies on your computer can help to erase the tracking software. However, the only way to talk privately online again is if everyone collectively agrees there is a privacy problem. We can use software that uses encryption to prevent outsiders from depicting a message. This is described in the TED Talk by Andy Yen. 

Overall the idea of our privacy being this invaded is terrifying. It feels as though we cannot go anywhere or do anything without leaving a trace behind us. We should not scare away by this, instead, we should fight for more privacy. The government is only allowed to get involved in our private life if we allow it. Standing up in this case can help change the cyber world.