We live in a digital world, a world so well connected, we can talk to someone on the other side of the planet in seconds. It’s a brave world, it’s an advanced world, and most importantly (in the context of this post) it’s a social world. Social media has become a part of our everyday life, to the point where we share everything with everyone; what we eating, what we’re doing, what we’re wearing, even what we’re thinking. Kind of puts a damper on privacy though, doesn’t it?
In today’s connected world, where everything is shared and everything about your embarrassing past can be brought back to haunt you, privacy is becoming more of a premium privilege rather than a fundamental right.
In fact, most people encourage you to share everything and if you don’t put up what’s happening in your life every day, you are looked down upon as antisocial!
What do you have to hide? Your friends want to know what you’re doing! Why don’t you share? That’s the kind of mentality we live in now.
So the question is, should we all give up on our own privacy and leave ourselves bare for the world to see? Are we losing our right to privacy?
Honestly, I would say no, but it depends on the type of person you are. Now there are two parts to this we need to address. One is, how people act in the digital world, and the other is corporations.
When it comes to people
It is considered normal to share everything like I mentioned before. But the truth is, keeping your privacy with other normal people is very simple, you just have to choose what you are willing to share and what you want to keep private. You don’t have to tell people what you are doing and where you going every minute of the day. Just be mindful of what you share. And if you’re worried about sharing what you are doing and where you are at any point in time on Instagram and twitter and what not, you can always share after the fact, you don’t have to share at that moment. So, when it comes to other people, you just have to be willing to choose and exercise your free will on what you are willing to share with the world and what you want to keep to yourself.
Now let’s talk about corporations
Apps from corporations like Facebook, GPS apps, Car calling, delivery and so on, have made it very easy (some might say a bit too easy) too share everything about yourself, and that’s the point. Apps like Facebook and Twitter makes sharing so easy because that is their entire business model. GPS apps like Google maps and Waze are often used to help people navigate, so obviously they need to know where you are. Car calling apps like Uber need your location to get to you and your financial details so you can pay/get paid, and the same goes for delivery apps. They were purposely made that way because that is the service they provide and having it makes life easier. But if you’re worried about these apps taking your information and broadcasting them to the world, then you can just force stop them if necessary and turn off your phone’s GPS; or you could uninstall those apps altogether. Heck, if you’re really worried, you can go completely minimalist and turn of your phone most of the time and only turn it on when you really need it. Okay maybe saying it like that is a bit extreme, but the point I am trying to make is, you can still keep your privacy. You have to be more active about it and you may have to take some extra steps, but it’s not impossible to keep your privacy.
Think about it this way; if you’re out walking in the woods, all the animals around you can see you and what you’re doing. It’s up to you to find shelter and create a way to keep the animals out.
Boiling it down, while the digital world has made it easier to share things, it is still possible to keep your privacy. We haven’t lost our right to it; we just need to be a little more active about keeping it.
Well that’s it for this post, I hope you liked it and I hope you have a good day ahead.
Alternative Yoga 