Nothing Is Private Anymore

 

Most of us know that each time we go online information is being gathered about us.   This can be good or bad or totally irrelevant, depending on how you view it.

Every time you participate in a questionnaire on Social Media, information about your personality and preferences is being collected.  (You probably know the sort of thing I mean – what sort of tree are you?, can you see the black dot?, which actress are you most like?, can you add this up correctly?, that sort of thing).

Every time you do an internet search (using Google or another search engine), information about what you are looking at is being recorded and stored away.  It is then used to personalize advertisements for you, or to make collective decisions about things like what type of restaurant is most suited for those living in your area.

Every time you travel somewhere with your phone, your location is being recorded and then utilized to show what time certain shops are busy, where there is a hold up in traffic flow, how many people are flocking to the beach for the weekend, and so on.

We live in the Age of Information and can access information on almost any subject at any time of the day.  But it works both ways, and information about us can be gathered and used by others.  It all comes down to Algorithms. 

Basically, an algorithm is a series of instructions telling a computer how to transform a set of facts into useful information.  This is neither a good thing or a bad thing, it is just a process used to deal with information.

I had a startling reminder of algorithms the other day after spending an afternoon tracking down all the different colours in the spectrum of blue.  Then that night I began a list of what clothes I would like to have in my ideal wardrobe, with an emphasis on which ones I would like to sew.

Now, when online, I am receiving advertisements for BLUE FABRIC!  I can understand the blue, but how did it know I wanted to sew and not buy clothes?  All I can think of is that during the last six months I have probably visited more sewing sites than clothes-to-buy sites.  Or was IT listening to me talking?

Son recently had the experience of having advertisements tailored to him regarding something he had been TALKING about.  He figured his phone picked it up, as his microphone is on all the time as he frequently uses Google Speak.  

Or is it all just Coincidence? 

Virtually anywhere you go outside of your home you will be recorded on CCTV.  Cameras are everywhere, outside homes, businesses, looking at traffic flows, in malls, you name it and there is invariably a camera present.  If you do something wrong, or scratch yourself when you think nobody is watching, there will nearly always be a camera there to record it!

There is not much privacy left to us now.  It is the world we live in, and most of us accept that.

So, smile at everyone – it might be Candid Camera returned to our screens! 😊

Margaret.