HW 8

Technology has given human beings the ability to do many things. We are able to connect with one another faster than ever with social networking sites, voice our opinions to many people with blog posts, and make news stories accessible to everyone. However, with all this good comes some bad. Hackers are able to infiltrate computers and steal important information. Governments are able to read emails and see where people are going with. It seems that the more advanced our technology becomes, the less privacy that we have. What is even worse is how we have become so dependent on the technologies like the internet. 

Nowadays, all of our important documents, numbers, and pictures are stored on our computers or on the internet (David Jr). If someone were to steal my computer, I would lose all of the vital data in my life. Hackers are getting so advanced that they do not even have to physically steal your computer. Instead, they can just simply create a virus and, if the virus goes on your computer, can steal your data. 

Some technology companies are now even offering “cloud” services. In principle, these cloud services are a great and convenient idea. They allow us to access all our documents and information from a stored database from wherever we are. However, if this database were to get hacked by a group, then all of our information will be violated. Government officials could also access this information, without our consent, by asking the company supporting the cloud services to hand over the information. In some cases, governments do not even need warrants to gain access to the data in the cloud (TechTangerine).

In order to protect our privacy, we simply need to be wary of the information that we put on social networking sites, cloud services, and emails. Sites, like Facebook, should only be used to talk to friends or post pictures from an event and not for posting locations for everyone to see or inappropriate pictures. As for cloud services, if people are working on important documents that contain essential information like social security, they should not put it in the cloud. They should not even leave it on their computer in case hackers manage to gain access to their computer. The same goes for emails. People need to be extra cautious about who they send their email to and what they send in those emails. People also need to regulate the use for which they use technology. We cannot always post our location using Facebook or put all of our documents in the cloud. If we regulate our internet and technology use, we will be safer and our privacy secure. 

Technology has given humans a lot of power. A lot of power to do many good things like share, process, and store information effectively and conveniently. However, with all this power comes responsibility. In order to secure what is important for work or school and to protect the privacy in our own lives, we need to responsibly share, process, and store information. We also need to responsibly regulate our technology use. People cannot be heavily reliant on new technologies because it can lead to dire consequences.