Privacy in the Information Age

Is privacy disapearing in our society?

  • Yes the net is eliminating it for all

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Yes but it is generational, young dont care about it

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • yes but it it will only affect non careful individuals

    Votes: 4 66.7%
  • no this is a CELEBRITY phenomenon only

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • no because privacy tech will catch up to info tech

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • no this topic is overblown

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6
  • Poll closed .

MalcolmFun

New member
The internet is just part of life today. I can kind of remember to before this was the case. To me it seems this is radically altering society quite quickly. Is everyone noticing this? (I'm a few years older then some regular posters on here)

Specifically is the idea of privacy going out the window in our society? It seems like it to me. Not only because of the information you can find but it also seems to me like younger people today dont even care about privacy like older people do? They just lay all thier personal info out there for everyone. In addition to the net, reality TV is taking over and privacy is a foreign concept to that.

Of course the perfect example of this is our own favorite F.Muniz. The poor guy's life is laid out like a science experiment on a workbench that everyone can see every detail and disect it if they want to. What is interesting to me is he doesnt seem to care and makes cursory, if any, attempts to keep things private. Using nothing more then google and some common news and other internet sites I know everything about him from his schedule, to knowlege of his personal life, to where he eats breakfast, what his house looks like, what his street looks like, where he goes in public, even what shampoo he uses.

Ok, so he is a celebrity and therefore it is a bit of an extreme case but arent we heading this way for everyone in general? It is a bit spooky to me.

Perhaps it is not really an age thing because J.Berfield, for examlpe, seems to be much the opposite?
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
You raise an interesting point. While online, my profile usually includes my age (14), gender (female), and location (Los Angeles). These are pretty general. I tend to lay out other information (like my first name, what I look like, etc) for tight communities (like this one) and very close online friends (you know who you are), no matter how old they might be. The people around me (parents, teachers, other students) are paranoid and discouraging about this. But the thing is, if I know for a fact where someone is and it happens to be far, I don't care. And if they are nearby, I have an excellent radar when things seem fishy (having been online for many years as a child now). For people older than me, it is a choice they make. They are not as targeted as us, and I'm sure you know what I mean.

Anyway, if you are of interest or "popular", people will try to find out more about or try to get to know you. That's the way our society works. Unfortunately, this can go horribly far. It is not Frankie's fault for relaying information, but the paparazzi's fault for being so attached to this information (not that you said anything about that). Justin, in comparison and in general, is lesser known. And most of the rest of the world.

In the future, I want to believe that most will remain the same. Privacy is one of our most precious and basic gifts. To willingly give that up, one must be vulnerable (like our actors in movies) or just plain idiotic (like young teens on myspace).
 
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MalcolmFun

New member
Just some things to ponder:

If you carry a cell phone, technology exists to track your location at all times
http://www.news.com/Police-Blotter-E911-rules-aid-police-in-tracking-cell-phones/2100-1030_3-6229805.html?tag=nefd.top

drivers licsence and passports allow your info to be read digitally, possibly wirelessly. Some nightclubs already keep records of thier clients.
http://www.news.com/FAQ-How-will-Real-ID-affect-you/2009-1028_3-6229517.html?tag=item

Media companies would love to know about every file on your pc and you download from the net
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080208-riaa-president-simply-musing-about-filters-on-your-pc.html

I myself have been freaked out by simply amazon.com you browse one stupid thing on sale and years later you get emails out of the blue advertising products you might like. It is not like they keep a record of every single thing you ever bought or looked at? Oh wait it is.
 
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AlexTheMartian

New member
Just some things to ponder:

If you carry a cell phone, technology exists to track your location at all times
http://www.news.com/Police-Blotter-E911-rules-aid-police-in-tracking-cell-phones/2100-1030_3-6229805.html?tag=nefd.top

drivers licsence and passports allow your info to be read digitally, possibly wirelessly. Some nightclubs already keep records of thier clients.
http://www.news.com/FAQ-How-will-Real-ID-affect-you/2009-1028_3-6229517.html?tag=item

Media companies would love to know about every file on your pc and you download from the net
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080208-riaa-president-simply-musing-about-filters-on-your-pc.html

I myself have been freaked out by simply amazon.com you browse one stupid thing on sale and years later you get emails out of the blue advertising products you might like. It is not like they keep a record of every single thing you ever bought or looked at? Oh wait it is.

about the amazon.com thing, i personally find it useful that they remember what items i look at, so that they can direct me to some other product i might like. i don't have a problem with lack of privacy.. because living in a big city, i don't know how many cameras have me recorded each day, but i won't be surprised if it is 10 or more.

google by far has the most personal information on you then any other website i can think of. and facebook is getting up there as tracking more information then myspace ever did and probably ever will.

im aware of it all, and im ok with it all. after all, i think most of us have our home's address in a phone book :eek:hmy:

and if you own a internet domain... that also will have your personal information that you provided upon registration available to any person that knows your domain name... that how i was able to find my website host's phone number :blink:

i know my address and phone number is easily found online... but im 22 so it is not a concern for me.
 
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yardgames

Retired Administrator
In most cases, I think that privacy is only as much of an issue as each individual makes it out to be. You're not required to have a Facebook profile, allow Google to track your web history, or even provide any more information than your email address for most websites. Yet many people feel comfortable divulging more information than that. Facebook has become a phonebook for people that choose to allow it to be.

A couple other notes:
How in the world would you manage to find Frankie's shampoo; what were you searching under, frankie muniz shampoo?

Cellphones do have GPS capability built in but you can choose to disable it, except in an emergency situation. In that case, your phone withholds your GPS signal from other devices unless you dial an emergency number and even then only emergency dispatch crews can see it.

Passports and driver's licenses can't track you yet. Supposedly the "Real ID" is being introduced in May and will have RFID chips, but the chips are extremely low power (think inches) and can't do a whole lot.

Most sites can have the personalization features turned off completely, but shopping sites like Amazon need to be able to track what you purchase in case you need to make a return or otherwise file a complaint. Brick-and-mortar stores do the same thing if you pay with anything other than cash.
 

MalcolmFun

New member
Cellphones do have GPS capability built in but you can choose to disable it, except in an emergency situation. In that case, your phone withholds your GPS signal from other devices unless you dial an emergency number and even then only emergency dispatch crews can see it.

Your phone doesnt have to have GPS. They calculate the distance from your phone to several different towers to measure your location. This is supposedly for 911 purposes only, and not as accurate or reliable as GPS.

Passports and driver's licenses can't track you yet. Supposedly the "Real ID" is being introduced in May and will have RFID chips, but the chips are extremely low power (think inches) and can't do a whole lot.
New passports do have RFID now I believe. Licenses have bar codes with a bunch of your info on it.


Most sites can have the personalization features turned off completely, but shopping sites like Amazon need to be able to track what you purchase in case you need to make a return or otherwise file a complaint. Brick-and-mortar stores do the same thing if you pay with anything other than cash
Im not saying there is not a legitimate purpose at all. It is just when you stop and think about how else it could be used. Especially when all these different data sources are added together.

How in the world would you manage to find Frankie's shampoo; what were you searching under, frankie muniz shampoo?
I'm embarrassed to say I even care enough to notice or look because it is just plain silly. But it is not like I'm stalker as I said his information is all "out there". I can use the excuse I like to look at and explore arcitecture since that is true. His house is still for sale. Pretty nice bachelor pad. Real estate agents typically include some photos in the listing. IMHO his agent got totally carried away, especially since he is a celebrity and still living there. There are super high res pics of almost his whole house. You can see a bunch of his stuff. http://www.1229wetherly.com/
 

PhatBack

New member
I actually believe the complete opposite. While your points are valid in regards to privacy online, do keep in mind I don't ever have to give any of that out no matter what I do. For example, let's do this:

My name is Rafael Marciano. I am from Gordoba, Espania. I was born in 1991 to my mother and father, Jose and Estella Marciano. I moved to America in 2003, when my father recieved a job working with the American Central Intelligence Agency.

Whilist this information is completely false, keep in mind that you have neither proof to prove otherwise or to reinforce my statement. There is no record or picture of "Rafael".

The use of a proxy is also another thing that gives one the shroud of anonymity. I use a program by the name of "Tor". Tor would make my IP appear as that of one anonymous Russian/German citizen, which makes it even harder to find me through that.

Yet again, try to prove that statement.

Finally, usernames change all the time. As do email addresses and such. I leave a life where I have to constantly change these things for security reasons, hence I don't think one (unless getting ahold of my true IP Address) would be able to find me.
 

MalcolmFun

New member
--Frankie Muniz joins the celebrity crowd at the turquoise Art Deco Eastern Columbia building. He has reserved a two-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot loft at close to $2.9 million. Other celeb buyers in the building include Johnny Depp and John Stamos.
http://www.luxist.com/2008/04/13/sunday-real-estate-round-up-4-13-08/

I cant imagine what a 2.9 million condo look like but nevertheless, selling a real house in an upscale neiborhood and going to a celebrity filled fad property? :thumbdown:
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
Some people love that stuff, I myself don't see much of a point. Just because you live near them doesn't mean that they're gonna wanna hang out with you. :D
 
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