The End Of Privacy

The End of Privacy Imagine a time where a new communication device came out whether it's a new smartphone or a new computer. Better ways to communicate are just over the horizon and humanity has never been closer. Consequently, as humanity gets closer, privacy becomes a distant memory. As humans rely more on technology for everyday life and for communication, more ways open for a person anywhere on the world can access someone else's information. By using a computer, the user opens their house to the entire web, which can also be accessed by anyone else in the world. Suddenly, the user is no longer alone, but anyone can be reached instantly with the push of a few buttons. But while this convenience is great, any other users could be listening
A user could speak with a person miles away just as if they were right beside one another. Because of this convenience, telephones began to be mass produced and within ten years 150,000 people owned telephones. Users enjoyed the convenience and privacy of this method of communication and being able to talk to people within their own homes. However, just like eavesdropping in real life, the first real invasion of privacy began with wiretapping. Wiretapping allowed users to tap into phone lines and listen in on conversations. This information could be sold by a private investigator to another citizen or could be sold to a company for corporate espionage (Kaplan, 2012). The idea of selling information gained from these new sources of technology followed into the largest form of peer to peer communication today, the internet. The internet was initially created in order to send data between two computers without the need to transport individual drives. Just like with the telephone, this information could be intercepted and sold to provide information. As time went on, more computers became connected and began to form a web of connections. Tim Berners-Lee had the idea to use this web to link all the information stored on computers. Thus, the internet was formed, and new opportunities for sharing information become possible. The first
This theory stated that humans gave up some individual rights in order to gain protection. Modern technology uses this concept with the ideas of privacy. When using the internet, users are aware that this information may be used by the government. In return, the government uses this information gathered to protect the users from threats such as terrorism. Even with the massive outrage caused by the defection of Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks, no harsh action has been taken against the NSA for using this information to track individual users. Users still use social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram and still document their lives for all to see, even with the risks of unwanted persons obtaining this information. To the modern user, the convenience search engines bring and the connectivity of social media outweighs the risks of privacy breaches. Consequently, as Mark Twain said, “history might not repeat itself, but it rhymes”. The world still grows forever closer, and may one day reach the point where any privacy could be a luxury that humanity cannot afford. Every cell phone is a mobile surveillance device that contains a camera, microphone, and all a user’s personal