Ever experience that unsettling sensation as if someone is continuously watching you? it’s somewhat eerie, isn’t it? in this technologically advanced era, it’s very easy for our actions to be monitored. This article delves into the entire concept of ‘being constantly observed’ and discusses why maintaining our privacy is highly important at present.
Privacy Breaches
Privacy mishaps are a significant issue in our interconnected world. Social media, online shopping, and all that technology mean our personal information is being collected, stored, and occasionally misused.
As reported by the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were more than 1,862 data breaches in the United States in 2020 alone, impacting over 412 million records. These leaks can compromise your identity, cost you money, and even affect your mental state. We must remain vigilant online and take steps to ensure our privacy is protected.
Surveillance Culture
With all these surveillance devices, we are constantly being observed by authorities, corporations, and our acquaintances. The Pew Research Institute conducted a research and discovered that 64% of the population believes there is an excessive amount of surveillance.
All this observation can cause us to feel uneasy and concerned, making us think twice about everything we do. We must recall that our right to maintain our privacy and to have freedom ought to be honored.
Online Anonymity
In the digital realm, we require the ability to communicate and express our thoughts without revealing our true identity. The freedom to converse and exchange ideas without disclosing our identity to others is extremely vital.
But if we were to lose the ability to remain anonymous can be quite detrimental. In certain regions, individuals have been imprisoned or even murdered for expressing opinions online. We must utilize tools such as encryption and other means to maintain our online anonymity and ensure that our communications remain confidential.
Corporate Surveillance
Companies monitoring our activities is another way our privacy gets threatened. Businesses collect vast amounts of information on their customers without informing or obtaining consent.
They use all that data to target ads towards us, attempt to alter our behavior, and even determine job eligibility or not. The World Economic Forum states the entire data industry is projected to be worth like $10. 5 trillion by the year 2025. We must remain vigilant of what companies are collecting and do all that we can to prevent them from obtaining excessive information.
The digital realm is perpetually evolving, so the necessity to preserve our privacy and the dangers of constant surveillance are just gonna get bigger. It falls upon us to continue our education, protect our privacy, and defend a space where we can freely act without constant criticism.