The Final Blog :')

Well folks, we’re finally here… the last blog! I’m not even trying to suck up or be cheesy, but I can honestly say that this class has taught so much. I never thought I would enjoy blogging, but it’s given me the chance to express myself in ways that my other classes have never let me. Of all the topics we have discussed, I think the technology unit was the most eye opening. My group did both our background report and debate around this topic, and I was fortunately able to become much more informed about internet privacy in the process. I don’t mean to be selfish by using my own material for this blog, but conducting the research for this specific topic was the most extensive and my knowledge of the topic grew exponentially more than the other topics. Basically, I knew nothing about my internet privacy, so I learned a lot relative to the other topics.

There are so many reasons that we should be concerned about our internet privacy, yet I never gave it much thought until this unit. It’s shameful to say but I’ve always just agreed to all of the Terms & Services on my various applications without much thought. I try to be conscious of my digital footprint, but we have become so reliant on technology that it’s difficult to manage and really keep track of everything I’ve passively agreed to put out there. I do my best not to overshare on the personal stuff, but the internet still knows a surprising amount of stuff about me. If you were paying attention during my group’s background report on Internet Privacy, you may have seen all of the miscellaneous details that Facebook knows about me (and everyone that has a profile). While some details I chose to share (i.e. my birthday, my hometown), there were other details that I didn’t directly disclose, and things that Facebook was able to discover about me just based on my activity. It was a big reality check.. I really had no idea that they were able to gather that much information about me. I would even describe myself as fairly cautious compared to other social media users, so I can’t even imagine how much of other people’s information is out there. Overall, the technology unit has advised me to be a LOT more cautious than I have ever been before, and in the future I know I’ll be better with what I disclose.

It’s been real you guys, and to quote one of my favorite feel-good movies