Big Brother is alive and well in
America. Americans volunteered to be followed, recorded, and, yes,
monitored by the government - oh I mean technology. Well ... both.
Don't get me wrong, I love technology
and I love my country.
I love America for the freedom we
enjoy, the freedom we understand to be our birthright as Americans.
Among those freedoms, the freedom to come and go as we please. We can
go anywhere in our vast country without notifying any officials or
gaining permission from anyone at all. We have freedom of speech far
greater than almost any other country in the world. I can freely
express my disagreement, disapproval and even disgust with the
government.
I embrace the world wide web -- mainly
doing business online and being able to find out almost anything I
want to know in minutes. I think the internet has changed the world
at least as much as the printing press did, when Gutenberg printed
that first Bible. Before Gutenberg's innovative moveable type system,
monks literally copied the Bible over and over by hand. Imagine! This
was cutting edge technology in the 1400s.
Today, in 2013, people blithely place
their personal information online at an alarming rate. I don't
participate in most social media, I never got the point. I don't want
to be subjected to all those inane updates. I'm guessing that many
people don't know that their whereabouts can be easily tracked
through their facebook posts. According to blogger David A.Desrosiers' blog posted on January 13, -
"Yes,
they’ve done it again silently sending GPS coordinates with every
message...
The most-recent update of the Facebook mobile application (Android
and iPhone) reverses and resets the default settings for
“Location Services”, so that every single Facebook message you
send, also sends your exact GPS coordinates to the recipient (and to
Facebook’s own messaging servers), even if you have your GPS
disabled on your phone. When the GPS is disabled, they fall back
to AGPS to determine your coordinates with incredible
accuracy. ... This is so specific, it actually revealed that I was in
my kitchen (in the rear of my house), and not just my approximate
street address on my road. Zooming into the map they helpfully
provide, shows where inside my house my phone is when I sent the test
messages that revealed this issue. "
And rumor has it that facebook is
getting ready to release a find friends app that uses GPS to locate
friends nearby. A Huffington Post article, posted April 4 -
No One Wants A Facebook App To Track Their Movements
Facebook is reportedly
planning
to release a tracking app that will help users find
friends nearby, two people with knowledge of the matter told
Bloomberg. The app would run even while Facebook is not being used on
one's phone, allowing Facebook to track users' whereabouts and sell
ads based on that information.
Facebook Is Said to Create Mobile Location-Tracking App
By Douglas MacMillan - Feb 5,
2013 12:01 AM ET
What's in Facebook's New Location
Tracker?
The app, scheduled for release by mid-March, is designed to help users find nearby friends and would run even when the program isn’t open on a handset, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
Facebook is adding features to help it profit from the surging portion of its more than 1 billion users who access the service via handheld devices. The tracking app could help Facebook sell ads based on users’ whereabouts and daily habits. It may also raise the hackles of consumers and privacy advocates concerned about the company’s handling of personal information.
Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have already scrutinized Menlo Park, California-based Facebook amid concerns that it doesn’t do enough to keep data private. Apple Inc. and Google, Inc. have similar tools for continuously keeping tabs on user whereabouts.
Both of these articles referenced may
be referring to the same app. I don't know. I can't test them. Not
only do I not have a Facebook account, I also do not have a smart
phone. In fact, I don't have any kind of cell phone. I love it. I
realize I am an outlier. I am a minority. Only 13% of U.S. adults do
not have a cell phone. I am amazed that so many people, who lived
their entire lives without this technology became so enamored with
constant contact in such a short time.
And, so what, you say. Why should I
care if I am watched, recorded, and monitored? Not to display my
personal paranoia, but what if somebody is watching you. What if
someone who means to harm you knows every move you make? Why give
them the tools? What if our government, which depending on your world
view, is reasonably benevolent, or considerably diabolical decided to
restrict your movements? Would you give up your cell phone and
facebook?
It is common knowledge that employers
and law enforcement will look up your profile if they have a need.
What about someone who wants to rob you? Or do you even worse harm?
Do you knowingly invite them into your life due to your my life is an
open book approach to technology? Do you let the world know all about
you, just because we have the means to do it? I don't.
Big Brother can leave me alone.How about you, is Big Brother welcome in your life?
Amen to not owning a cell phone! I reluctantly have one due to my husband's wishing to keep me safe if ever stranded (broken down) on the hwy(which hasn't happened yet; otherwise, I would not own one either. And taking down my FB page is on my "to do" list. Your thoughts on this "overexposure" of our culture is right on! We must not forget, but be mindful that our privacy is a "right" and protect it as such. Thank you for this information and reminder - that technology is shifting us away from having privacy,(and unwittingly so as we become accustomed to using such technology), even encouraging our overexposure which, in effect, puts us at risk of a host of invasions, i.e. stalking, domestic violence, hate crimes,etc.
ReplyDeleteGreat article!!