Paranoia to Over Sharing

[RamblingMad]

How did we go from being concerned about privacy to sharing our entire lives online? I can't wrap my head around it. I'm binge watching some X-Files, and I forgot how paranoid we were back in the day. Folks actually seemed to care about privacy in the 90s and early 2000s. What happened?

 

[kanerf]

The fact that corporations and the government know all of your information and frequently share it with unscrupulous organizations means that you have no privacy.

 

[Colleen27]

I think most people have decided privacy is either unattainable or not worth the tradeoffs (like no smartphone, no social media, no shoppers club, etc.) so we as a society have just given up on the whole idea. And I think some of that is a backlash against the over-hyped worries about privacy in the early internet era; when the sky didn't fall because data got shared, people became desensitized to warnings about how consumer data can be abused.

 

[RamblingMad]

I think most people have decided privacy is either unattainable or not worth the tradeoffs (like no smartphone, no social media, no shoppers club, etc.) so we as a society have just given up on the whole idea. And I think some of that is a backlash against the over-hyped worries about privacy in the early internet era; when the sky didn't fall because data got shared, people became desensitized to warnings about how consumer data can be abused.

Maybe we should care more.

It's stuff like this that makes me want to go back to the days of paranoia about the Internet. Ignoring the politics, this is pretty scary. Big brother ("Zuck") is watching.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-abortion-charges-in-nebraska?srnd=premium

A Nebraska woman was charged with two felonies related to an illegal abortion after authorities discovered information about the pregnancy through private messages on Facebook Messenger, according to court documents. The case renewed debate about how law enforcement may use social media accounts in cases involving reproductive choices.

 

[focusondisney]

How did we go from being concerned about privacy to sharing our entire lives online?

Blame reality TV. People see average people becoming famous for doing everyday things and want to be famous too. So they start putting anything & everything about themselves online. Makes them feel important too.

 

[Marrila]

Maybe we should care more.

It's stuff like this that makes me want to go back to the days of paranoia about the Internet. Ignoring the politics, this is pretty scary. Big brother ("Zuck") is watching.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-abortion-charges-in-nebraska?srnd=premium

And so begins the spying, snooping, collecting and reporting. smh

 

[emmybee]

I don't understand the oversharing to complete strangers. Whether it's a bday, or even something like illness or death, I just don't get it. I recently saw a "hey, where are you from" kind of post, and later people were complaining that the person was a bot that started spamming them. I get that US laws are ridiculously lax and allow companies to get away w/ murder, but....keep personal stuff to yourself. I can't imagine getting much satisfaction by vying for attention from people who don't even know you. As a disclaimer, I'm aiming this comment to the FB-type realm where people supposedly use their real names. I'm not a techie person who's going to go through the trouble of tracking anyone down on a forum like this. That's a whole other type of sad, lol

 

[DLgal]

Maybe we should care more.

It's stuff like this that makes me want to go back to the days of paranoia about the Internet. Ignoring the politics, this is pretty scary. Big brother ("Zuck") is watching.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-abortion-charges-in-nebraska?srnd=premium

There is a LOT more to this story. The abortion was the least heinous thing these 2 did. These records were gathered as part of a larger criminal investigation.

 

[RamblingMad]

There is a LOT more to this story. The abortion was the least heinous thing these 2 did. These records were gathered as part of a larger criminal investigation.

I'm not getting into those weeds. This story, I posted, is strictly about using social media data. Be careful how you use social media.

 

[DLgal]

I'm not getting into those weeds. This story, I posted, is strictly about using social media data. Be careful how you use social media.

I was just pointing out that ANYTHING you do is accessible by law enforcement when you have been charged with a crime. That is not about privacy. You lose that when you break the law.

 

[RamblingMad]

I was just pointing out that ANYTHING you do is accessible by law enforcement when you have been charged with a crime. That is not about privacy. You lose that when you break the law.

If you don't share, there is nothing to access. That's my point. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, people were far more paranoid about this stuff. Somehow, the social media companies have convinced the masses to share. I find that fascinating.

 

[DLgal]

If you don't share, there is nothing to access. That's my point. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, people were far more paranoid about this stuff. Somehow, the social media companies have convinced the masses to share. I find that fascinating.

People always leave a trail. Even when they think they don't. These 2 were just dumb enough to leave a digital trail that was easy to access.

 

[Colleen27]

Maybe we should care more.

It's stuff like this that makes me want to go back to the days of paranoia about the Internet. Ignoring the politics, this is pretty scary. Big brother ("Zuck") is watching.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-abortion-charges-in-nebraska?srnd=premium

Maybe, but I don't think there's any putting that genie back in the bottle. Virtually all communication is digital now and it all leaves a footprint for Big Brother to examine and exploit. I do see more concern over privacy in my kids' generation than my own - there's a big viral push right now to delete period tracking apps and health apps that contain that information out of the (justified, IMO) fear that it could be exploited to prosecute women for their reproductive choices - so maybe in time we'll see more aggressive regulation of data collection and use. But I don't think that's likely any time soon. I don't think the current generation of leadership in this country even understands the issues well enough to have an informed discussion about consumer protections and abuses.

I don't understand the oversharing to complete strangers. Whether it's a bday, or even something like illness or death, I just don't get it. I recently saw a "hey, where are you from" kind of post, and later people were complaining that the person was a bot that started spamming them. I get that US laws are ridiculously lax and allow companies to get away w/ murder, but....keep personal stuff to yourself. I can't imagine getting much satisfaction by vying for attention from people who don't even know you. As a disclaimer, I'm aiming this comment to the FB-type realm where people supposedly use their real names. I'm not a techie person who's going to go through the trouble of tracking anyone down on a forum like this. That's a whole other type of sad, lol

A lot of public click/comment bait posts on FB are bots and data miners, but FB isn't really intended to be a forum for sharing with the general public. 95% of what I post is audience-limited to my friends, so if I'm talking about illness or death or grief or vacation or school, I'm sharing with people I do know on some level. But that's different from questions of privacy because Big Brother Zuck and anyone he chooses to make user data available to have access to my data even if I'm not oversharing or posting to an audience of complete strangers.

 

[emmybee]

Maybe, but I don't think there's any putting that genie back in the bottle. Virtually all communication is digital now and it all leaves a footprint for Big Brother to examine and exploit. I do see more concern over privacy in my kids' generation than my own - there's a big viral push right now to delete period tracking apps and health apps that contain that information out of the (justified, IMO) fear that it could be exploited to prosecute women for their reproductive choices - so maybe in time we'll see more aggressive regulation of data collection and use. But I don't think that's likely any time soon. I don't think the current generation of leadership in this country even understands the issues well enough to have an informed discussion about consumer protections and abuses.



A lot of public click/comment bait posts on FB are bots and data miners, but FB isn't really intended to be a forum for sharing with the general public. 95% of what I post is audience-limited to my friends, so if I'm talking about illness or death or grief or vacation or school, I'm sharing with people I do know on some level. But that's different from questions of privacy because Big Brother Zuck and anyone he chooses to make user data available to have access to my data even if I'm not oversharing or posting to an audience of complete strangers.

What I was referring to are groups that I don't need to mention specifically by name. But imagine fan groups of X band or X youtuber. People post really personal stuff on those groups which always makes me shake my head. We might have a common interest, but we don't actually know each other. I am really not interested in a stranger's personal business.

 

[sam_gordon]

If you don't share, there is nothing to access. That's my point. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, people were far more paranoid about this stuff. Somehow, the social media companies have convinced the masses to share. I find that fascinating.

Because people have decided the positives of social media/cell phones outweigh the negatives of giving up some privacy.

 

[shh]

People who grew up in a dictatorship know that guarding one's privacy can literally mean the difference between life and death. I hope it never comes to that in the U.S., but world history teaches us that information is used in scary ways when evil leaders seize control.

I have older family members who lost most of their loved ones in dictatorship regimes and were cautious beyond belief once here as citizens. They wouldn't even apply for benefits they qualified for because it meant divulging details they weren't comfortable sharing.

I don't think anyone younger than the WW2 generation in the U.S. really understands the value of privacy. They haven't had to deal with the dire consequences of losing it, other than ID theft risk.

 

[anniemae]

I think back then the whole internet/smartphone/digital age/computer/social media thing was new. We were very leery of it. When I was growing up NOBODY had a cell phone or even a computer in their house. There was no social media, you had to physically take your paycheck to the bank, book trips with travel agents etc.

Now, just about everything can be done online. I think what happened is that the kids who were born to people of the 80's and 90's never knew that old life. They were born into this digital age, so it's normal to them. They are not skeptical at all. They grew up with it. Not like those of us who did not have it, then witnessed the evolution of this digital age. We are skeptical because it was so new to us, our kids know nothing of that time.

 

[mrodgers]

I don't understand the oversharing to complete strangers. Whether it's a bday, or even something like illness or death, I just don't get it. I recently saw a "hey, where are you from" kind of post, and later people were complaining that the person was a bot that started spamming them. I get that US laws are ridiculously lax and allow companies to get away w/ murder, but....keep personal stuff to yourself. I can't imagine getting much satisfaction by vying for attention from people who don't even know you. As a disclaimer, I'm aiming this comment to the FB-type realm where people supposedly use their real names. I'm not a techie person who's going to go through the trouble of tracking anyone down on a forum like this. That's a whole other type of sad, lol

The worst is seeing everyone replying to those type of things. "What's your favorite vacation!" Sounds harmless on the surface. I usually post a reply in all of these type of postings, "Security question!" as they are all common security questions you answer for other websites you log into. Where did you grow up, what's your favorite vacation, what city were you born in. All common security questions with 1.2 million people freely posting their answers.

 

[Kitty 34]

The worst is seeing everyone replying to those type of things. "What's your favorite vacation!" Sounds harmless on the surface. I usually post a reply in all of these type of postings, "Security question!" as they are all common security questions you answer for other websites you log into. Where did you grow up, what's your favorite vacation, what city were you born in. All common security questions with 1.2 million people freely posting their answers.

Me personally.......when I answer those kind of questions (on the DIS) I make sure I never use my answers to security questions asked of me. Just as, if I ask a question of someone's favorite whatever; I don't expect them to use their security code answers but maybe I underestimate the intelligence status of some.

 

[nw6675]

People who grew up in a dictatorship know that guarding one's privacy can literally mean the difference between life and death. I hope it never comes to that in the U.S., but world history teaches us that information is used in scary ways when evil leaders seize control.

I have older family members who lost most of their loved ones in dictatorship regimes and were cautious beyond belief once here as citizens. They wouldn't even apply for benefits they qualified for because it meant divulging details they weren't comfortable sharing.

I don't think anyone younger than the WW2 generation in the U.S. really understands the value of privacy. They haven't had to deal with the dire consequences of losing it, other than ID theft risk.

This. I recently signed up with a group that very much reflects my beliefs in general. However, after the fact I regretted it only because sadly I thought it could potentially be used against me at some point in the future. I requested they remove me. For the record, it was not extreme in any way, just represents a moderate view that does not seem to fit well right now.