Blog Post #5 - Privacy

Privacy today in this day and age is not recognized enough. Especially for people my age, this should be brought to attention more in society. Privacy on social media needs to be taken much more seriously than it has been. Social media and technology improve more and more everyday, but it is also something as individuals that we should become more aware of and what we are putting on the internet for anyone to see, not just our friends and family but strangers. After watching these TED talk videos, it is pretty evident that we as humans think when our social media pages are “private” are really not. They are open for the public, the government and for really anyone to access and that couldn't be more scary. 

One TED talk that really grabbed my attention the most was Darieth Chisolm story and the digital harassment she faced from her ex husband. She opened up about how her naked pictures were leaked on a website that was created and shared from her ex husband. She could not believe what she heard and found out that the world could see these pictures. There was not much action she could take but get the government involved in this situation and have an investigation done. She hated that she had to go about everyday knowing her pictures are out there for the public to see. Darieth did everything she could to try and put an end to this. Darieth heard back from the government and was told that the pictures and website were removed and that her ex husband was arrested. 

Darieth’s TED talk really touched me because she let her voice become heard and that is how she got justice. This can be a really sensitive and hard topic to talk about to the public but Darieth was very open about this traumatic situation. She created a non-profit called, “50 Shades of Justice.” This focused on her own experience that she went through but allowed for similar victims to share their stories as well to raise awareness. 

It is important that society becomes more aware of these issues that take place over social media platforms. It can be very easy for people to misuse social media. Before you click that share button, you need to consider if you are willing to be ok with other people seeing that content, how this can affect you and if you are making the right decision. People do not take in those factors before sharing a picture or writing a comment. Social media tracks everything people put out. The government has access to track our information and the access to our personal life. After having experience with these social media apps and how they are used, I am very careful with what I choose to post and the information I give to people. These apps are improving more and more everyday to be better and protect our “privacy.” Once you hit that share button, it's out there forever.