After reading Vaidhyanathan’s article Naked in the ‘Nonopticon’ I couldn’t help but feel naked myself. What I mean by this is, it kept me thinking about all the instances that I have provided seemingly harmless information to online websites without giving it much of a second thought. Once I realized the extent of that information now, I felt like I was a lot more in the eyes of the public than I had previously thought. It gave me the feeling of being exposed for all to see. Today it is much more common place for people to log onto a site and simply type in personal information without thinking about repercussions. I, for one, never thought about the idea of websites selling my information to other websites or to even read the privacy clauses in depth. This article has changed my outlook on privacy on the internet but not to a completely closed off view of providing information through the internet.
Because so much of society today is centered around the internet and technology it is impractical to completely close yourself off to the idea of putting information online. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy something online which requires giving out your address for shipping and some type of payment information. Even the Rowan site has a lot of personal information on it and there’s really no way you can deny the university that information. I think being more cautious of where you’re inputting what information is the best way to go about protecting yourself. Make sure you know where your information is going and if theres a privacy clause make sure you take the extra five minutes to read it, it could be to your benefit.
Thanks for reading it and commenting on it.
– Siva