A Galea
A Galea
Nov 2 · 3 min read

Privacy and the Internet

Privacy is the ability to seclude oneself or information about oneself to feel protected and safe as you have a sense of secrecy for personal information that should not be disclosed to others, so basically it’s a prehistoric word…. thanks to the internet. I could not recall the last time I felt protected or a sense of confidentiality over the years of online evolution. It’s crazy to think I could be having an in person conversation with someone about going on a trip to Japan, then about 1 hour later see ads pop up on Facebook for great deals on flights to Japan. How does this happen? Why does the internet constantly claim that our privacy is important to them when they use personal conversations as a form of advertising? Google claims in their privacy and terms that “when you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and we work hard to protect your information and put you in control.” Ok, but if I’m in control why are you using my conversations to gain brand deals? How are we supposed to place trust in the online world when they can quite literally access our entire lives?

There are many theories that our phones are listening to us and morphing our conversations into virtual adverts. John Brandon from Inc.com conspired a theory about Facebook stating that “Facebook knows what your friends are searching for, and then they start feeding you those ads.” Brandon’s theory is realistic and makes a wild amount of sense but on the other hand, I have experienced circumstances where ads have popped up that I know none of my friends have been researching. For example, I recently got a credit card through my bank and suddenly started receiving ads about reducing debt and managing credit cards. None of my friends have credit cards, so is the internet looking into the banking app on my phone and twisting advertisements to suit my financial situation? This is one thing I think about a lot. If they can access everything else in my life, even personal face to face conversations, what is going to stop them from accessing my funds and sharing this type of information. I mean a broke little teenager so there’s not much in the account for the internet to look into. But what about an elderly person. All their banking is done online and so is all the money they have worked so hard for their entire lives, how are they going to feel protected and trust that the internet is protecting their privacy?

We’re never going to feel protected and have a sense of confidentially. The internet is essentially a source of life in the world today and there is no way around it. In the words of Pete Cashmore, the CEO of blog space Mashable, “Privacy is dead and social media holds the smoking gun”. Privacy has been defeated and we’ll never feel safe.

A Galea

Written by

A Galea

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade