A Positive Way to Look At Privacy Invasion

Running head: PRIVACY INVASION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
A Positive Way to Look At Privacy Invasion
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PRIVACY INVASION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
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A Positive Way to Look At Privacy Invasion
Social privacy involves factors, technologies and techniques of protecting private and
sensitive data, preferences and communications from access by third party or the social public.
Protecting personal data or issues makes privacy an essential base for safeguarding human
dignity and as well a basis from which other human rights develop1. On the other hand, social
media are interactive technologies driven by computers to enable the creation and sharing of
information. The technology pointed at here are internet based apps and websites that facilitate
the creation of content that can include text, pictures, and videos which then can be shared via
networks provided the social media platforms such as groups and direct chats. Social media
platforms have greatly affected the existence of privacy and had of late become the critical factor
in influencing human dignity which is a challenge to users2. The 21st century, has significantly
developed social media networks, which have facilitated the sharing of even the most private
information ever3. It has impacted how privacy has been a protector of human dignity. This paper
looks into how social media has helped reveal information from around the world and dumping
privacy as deep as possible.
On the other hand, social media as a security tool has dramatically impacted the security
of countries and societies. Before the introduction of surveillance apps, criminal offenses were
1Held, Cornelius, Julia Krumm, Petra Markel, and Ralf P. Schenke. "Intelligent video
surveillance." Computer 45, no. 3 (2012): 83-84.
2Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of Social Media." Business horizons 53, no. 1 (2010): 59-68.
3Rheingold, Howard. "Attention, and other 21st-century social media literacies." Educause
Review 45, no. 5 (2010): 14.

PRIVACY INVASION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
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on the rise4. However, with the introduction of web-based applications that could track the
position and activity of a person using digital cameras and geolocations, security has been
enhanced5. We generally accept that by applying surveillance in tracking and stalking people, we
violate the privacy of the victims, but the overall security enhancement outweighs the violation
of privacy rights. It is therefore advantageous for a nation to assure its citizens of their security
by violating the privacy of someone of a group that can be susceptible to terrorism. For instance,
prominent terrorists have been brought down by the use of surveillance systems. A renowned
terrorist Osama bin Laden, who was also the leader of a terrorist group al-Qaida was tracked
down and killed this way6. The increased technology facilities allowed an American security
agency to track a phone believed to lead them to his locality7. The agency, by the use of social
media, managed to identify his compound with the help of intelligent surveillance drones and
eliminated the security threat8. The other case is when the Boston Marathon bomb suspects were
identified by the use of surveillance systems in which the privacy of the suspect was invaded.
The third question on social media is concerned with the security of children. In well-
developed homes, children have access to computers in a bid to gain materials necessary for their
education. The danger associated with children accessing the internet is them meeting wrong
people who may harm them physically and psychologically. The other effect is when children
4Held, Julia, Petra and Ralf, 84.
5Waters, Susan, and James Ackerman. "Exploring privacy management on Facebook:
Motivations and perceived consequences of voluntary disclosure." Journal of Computer‐
Mediated Communication 17, no. 1 (2011): 101-115.
6Marwick, Alice E., and Danah Boyd. "Networked privacy: How teenagers negotiate context in
social media." New media & society 16, no. 7 (2014): 1051-1067.
7 Ibid. 1059
8Miller, Greg. "CIA flew stealth drones into Pakistan to monitor bin Laden house." The
Washington Post 17 (2011).