Facebook, MySpace,Twitter: How do these sites relate to questions of privacy? How are they changing notions of private versus public, in your opinion?
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Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are all social networks where a lot of personal information is posted for the access of a large amount of people. Privacy is something that is a lot harder to achieve in today's ever connected world. Depending on how you set you're privacy almost anyone can access all of you're personal information which could be detrimental to you're identity. In my opinion, they are changing notions of private versus public in the fact that they are giving you the necessary privacy but not forcing you to use it. It is you're choice of how private you want to be.
ReplyDeleteThese social networking sites allow persons to communicate via the internet. Profiles on these social networking sites display the users picture and wide array of personal information. Depending upon the privacy level the users information may be available to the world or a select group of people. These social networking sites are increasingly becoming less private and so are the users. Myspace and facebook began as a way to communicate with other people. Now, Twitter is a way to tell everyone what you are doing at every second of the day. These sites are paving way for a world with minimal privacy and mystery. The users of Twitter are very strange to me. I do not feel compelled to share my life with strangers.
ReplyDeleteOnline networks such as Facebook and MySpace have changed the way that users interact and display their lives. There has been much debate as to what kind of information to post online on one's profile due to the possibility of unwanted people looking at the profile. Such persons who may violate a person's privacy is the government and prospective job employees. Facebook has responded to this invasion of privacy by allowing the user control their information. The network gives "them the ability to choose being completely open with everyone if they want to be, or to select individual groups of people that they want to share a piece of content with." People who use such networks should be cautious as to what information they post on the internet and to whom they wish to share it with. I myself have a Facebook profile and have kept up contacts with friends and families across many countries. It has been beneficial to my life to keep up contact with those who are dear to me. I must also acknowledge that in this changing global environment people must be aware that privacy is dwindling to a bare minimum. In the first reading it states, "nowhere is the word privacy mentioned in the Constitution, nor it is a right to privacy explicit in any amendment." A typical American may feel that privacy is a basic right, but here it affirms how we must be aware that it is not.
ReplyDeleteAnyone that has a profile on facebook or myspace or twitter can see a lot of private things about people that they have never met before. You can see a picture, birthday and hometown just by clicking on there profile. I think Facebook, Myspace and Twitter have all changed the vary definition of privacy. People would not go up to some random stranger on the streets and tell them their birth day, their full name and show them pictures of what they did last night but that is essentially what people are doing on these sites. If you don't have a privacy setting on their page they are telling strangers all about themselves. I don't know why people would be ok with complete strangers being able to look at there pictures and things.
ReplyDeleteFacebook,Myspace and Twitter are all global social networks geared for public or private use. As these websites gain more and more members, harrassment,stalking and privacy issues have become a main concern of the public. Before creating a profile or page on one of these websites, you have to agree to a terms and agreements and/or a privacy agreement. Most of these are actually several pages long, written in very very small print and instead of being forced to read theses before signing up, there is the option of just clicking on a box that says "Yes, I have read this". I among millions, checked the box. For the most part, you are in control of your profile/page . You decide who can see your profile, what information the viewer can see,ect. By creating a profile/page you are immediately creating a web presence that shows up on many popular search engines, such as google or yahoo. Many employers are now using facebook and myspace to search for applicants and hired employees. What you think may be private, like the kegstand pictures from last Saturday, may be staring your future boss in the face.It is your responsibility on what kind of information you put on these pages and what levels of privacy settings you choose to create.
ReplyDeleteThere are positive advantages to these sites in its ability to connect someone with others. The disadvantage to these sites is the loss of privacy as a result to displaying too much personal identity. Technology has grown rapidly and in this growth we’ve become accustom to its ways as a part of everyday life. Before shooting a simple informal facebook message to a friend, we had to send letters in the mail. This advance has made staying in touch with friends and family never before easier. Instead of long lost friends that you may never see again, we now have search engines that aid in finding the people in ones past. This has allowed many people in the world to maintain relationships with one another. Although there are issues with privacy I believe facebook is overall a good resource to stay connected with others. I believe it is ones own fault for displaying too much personal information to the public. There is a way to decline someone’s friendship as well as an option that sets a limited profile for someone to see. Ones own irresponsibility in protecting their own identity on the web is the main cause for their lack of privacy. It’s important to remember never to display something on your web page that you wouldn’t want anyone else to see or read.
ReplyDeleteMySpace, Facebook and Twitter are decreasing our personal privacy, but not without our sanction.
ReplyDeleteThrough such systems - particularly MySpace and Facebook - we are allowing (to varying extents, depending on the person) our friends and, sometimes, complete strangers to read about our personal information, background, tastes and opinions; or, through Twitter, we are constantly giving people updates on all the things we do, all the (freaking) time.
These systems have grown not only because of our desire to connect to one another, but also because of our personal desire to express ourselves - embodied on networking sites by depressed teenagers who feel unappreciated, isolated and frustrated by the anonymity of modern society - and so we have unwarily pursued our desire for self-exposure and interpersonal connection and in the meantime created huge, potentially compromising webs of personal communications and other information; as we keep feeding these systems we make it harder for ourselves to keep track of what personal info of ours is available for others' perusal; or, as in the case of the controversy over Facebook privacy practices, we are submitting information that we may lose formal control over.
I think we are naturally inclined towards wanting attention and recognition, and we are always looking for new ways to facilitate communication and help us keep in touch with our relations, friends and colleagues. To feed this urge, websites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have been created, allowing us to put out more and more information about ourselves (in potentially insecure networks), and as a consequence we are ceding much of our own privacy and losing track of what personal information we have submitted for others to see.
Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter are all ways designed to reach out to other people and make new friends. So, why has it then become all about "ME"? "Comment MY new pics", "Leave ME some love", "read MY blog", "I am bored, who wants to chill with ME?" All of those statements are ones we have all read on our bulletin boards on myspace, people looking for a pathetic pity post. Why do people post things like that? Are we really that needy for attention? Why is it that we can't go a day without checking our Facebook and seeing that glorious little red thing that notifies us that someone did something that relates to us without posting an annoying bulletin begging for attention? I want to go back to a simpler time. A time when people called eachother, or wrote letters. Now its, Facebook I.M. or a "poke" to let someone know you were thinking about them. I am not against technology advancing and making communication easier, but you take into account that how many people on a social network set their profile to private and you realize that all of these devices are no longer about meeting people and finding common interests, it is all about getting attention.
ReplyDeleteAlso, has anyone noticed that when Myspace was the only one of these three around everyone seemed a lot more unified and it almost seemed like the purpose of Myspace was being fulfilled? Now you have a number of these things and you have people who, "have had Myspace for forever" and "will never get a Facebook because they are stupid." There are actually people who have brand loyalty to these websites and refuse to get an account on one of the other ones. So does anyone else think it is funny that these devices are not only bringing people together, but also causing people to spread apart?
Facebook was founded by three Harvard students whose aim was to provide Harvard students with a way to keep in contact with one another. However, according to Wikepedia Facebook has expanded to over 175 million users. As Facebook developed at an alarming rate, it stirred a momentum of other social networking websites such as MySpace, and now Twitter. These three social networking sites have truly changed the meaning of privacy.
ReplyDeleteIs this good or bad? I suppose that really depends on the person. For instance these networking sites have made it easier for people to stay in constant contact and have also allowed others to get a glimpse into who we really are, without hiding much. On the other hand, it may be somewhat daunting to think about what these sites may evolve into within the next few years. It has definetly made privacy almost non existant, but yet again, no one is forced to use it.Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are just examples of how society is constantly evoloving, such as with the development of the phone, t.v. and computer, there will always be both positive and negative aspects to new trends and developments. The question of how and where these social websites are headed in a few years may lead our privacy into extinction, but as for now these sites still remain a choice.
It's sad what out English language has come to when Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter are common words in peoples daily life. These social networks have made it easier for people to stay in contact. It has gone from face-to-face conversations, to letters, to telephones, to email, to texting, to social networks like Facebook. With each progression a little bit of our privacy has diminished. Technology has made it easy for us to communicate, but at what cost? These sites are making it easier and easier for people to look into ones life. It is a complete evasion of privacy, but we are the ones who set up our profile. Last year at Kent, Facebook and Myspace was a much bigger deal than it is here. Each class took time to us the importance of keeping certain items from our profile. Such as our birthday, pictures of us drinking, our telephone. Not only to keep some of our privacy, but because these social networks are a great way to market ourselves. I have had people tell me to look them up and learn about them through Facebook and Myspace before entering an interview. We just need to watch what we do with these networks. Or maybe this is the governments goal and their way of not technically invading ones privacy.
ReplyDeleteMyspace, Facebook, and Twitter are essentially, to me at least, the antithesis of privacy. People are putting the most intimate details of their life (with pictures included!) on the internet for all of their friends, if not the public, to see as well as regularly updating their life story! Our notions of privacy today are changing drastically because those individuals who post their lives up to the very second on the internet and are then wailing about not having privacy while doing this creates a conondrum- everyone wants to post their life on the web for people to find and still retain anonymity. People are trying to change the public sphere into the private one with these networking sites and privacy complaints. I think that if you make the decision to post something on the internet, you should think before you act and not post stupid or sensitive information up. Then, having the illusion of privacy provided to you by the social networking sites' "privacy policies" won't even be an issue and the idea of trying to keep what is supposed to be your public life private won't even be an issue.
ReplyDeleteFacebook, MySpace, etc. are sites that are perfectly harmless when used properly. However, because the society that we live in is decidedly imperfect, there is potential for abuse, especially in regards to privacy. This applies to privacy being invaded and also to the conscious decision to expose way more than necessary. Whether the various things people post about themselves are just in bad taste or actually illegal, they need to take a step back and ask themselves why they are doing that and if they really want to after all. As for invasion of privacy, that is part of the greater issue of security vs. freedom. It can be incredibly difficult to draw the line between what needs to be done for the good of the people and what is simply excessive. In either case, it is important to think about the material being posted and filter out anything that could cause trouble. After all, this information is not only available to schools, employers, parents and such, but it is also available to hackers and various other predators. Hopefully, in the future, some solution will be devised to prevent this toxic behavior and make social networking sites, as well as the rest of the internet, safer and happier places.
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