I’m a sucker for a well-designed app.
I usually tend to tinker with and try a few different apps each week. My search results are full of variations of “top [insert category here] apps”.
I’m such a sap for these sleek, shiny programs that I often am willing to give them way more information than I usually intend to. And trying out these apps usually always follows the same process:
*Install, review terms of service, see what information it wants to gather, sigh and then uninstall*.
I like to think of myself as a relatively security conscious person. I have strong passwords, I don’t save my login on public computers, I use VPN (virtual private networks) when I’m in public, all that jazz. But that’s all built to keep threats out. People or programs that want to kick down my digital door and steal my information.
What I’m usually the most concerned with is the data that I am choosing to give companies, and the implicit trust I put in them to handle that data safely and ethically (most of the time just because they have a slick menu).
A lot of us like to think that we’re secure with our data, and don’t consider the possibility of the data being misused by the people we’re providing it to. We’re so focused on the external threat that we often forget that most data issues and breaches are a result of user error.
What happens when we open the drawbridge to our digital castle and let the armies march right in? But here’s the thing;
Do we really have a choice when it comes to whether or not to trust companies and organizations with our data?
There are so many applications that are so critical to people’s daily lives. E-mail, calendars, bank accounts, social media, etc.
To avoid the use of these technologies because we’re worried about data abuse would turn us into the online equivalent of that one person in the long checkout line that wants to pay by check (or pennies).
Should we really have to choose between being technological cavemen or open door digitens (my made up word for digital citizens)?
If you’re unfamiliar with the recent Cambridge Analytica Facebook Scandal, you should check out the following article from The Atlantic below that gives a solid gist of the issue:
(I promise, it’s a short read)
There’s a lot behind the scandal itself, but the general point that stands out to me is this:
“What do we do when the services that are so integrated to our normal lives can’t even be trusted to protect our data?”
Is there even such a thing as being data-safety conscious in our personal lives when we willingly give everything to these companies anyways?
What’s the point of having security questions and two-step authentication if the companies that are moderating these measures are the potential threats? At a certain point, are the countermeasures or steps we’re taking for nothing more than giving us the illusion of safety?
I encounter a good example of this issue everyday.
As I’ve said before, I try to be security conscious. I’ve heard of Google having some data and privacy issues lately, so maybe I don’t want to use G-mail anymore. Maybe I want to try a different browser than Chrome, maybe I don’t want to search everything via Google.
So I install Brave, a solid privacy browser from a splinter of the Mozilla team. I use Duck Duck Go as my search engine, and I start using Outlook instead of Gmail as my e-mail app.
These all sound like solid alternatives right?
The problem is….
I HAVE A GOOGLE PHONE…. ON A GOOGLE CELL NETWORK.
And as much as I’m concerned with my privacy, I’m not about to go sell my phone (that’s a key part of my personal and professional life) for a flip-phone or some pay-by-the-month burner. And the other alternative to a phone system is Apple, which has it’s own share of company issues.
Some people may argue that a phone isn’t essential to living, and that you have to make some sacrifices of convenience to be private in today’s age. And for the most part, that’s true.
But as someone who works in digital communications, this hardware and the apps that come with it are essential to my personal and professional development.
I talk to my friends and family on it, I manage my money on it, I handle my graduate school on it, my professional network knows to reach me on it. Even just to create personal and professional versions of all of my systems does nothing more than doubles the amount of data that I have to manage and filter.
To sever all of that or take the time to move to a different digital ecosystem is a transition cost that many, including myself, can’t afford.
And what do we do when those who are supposed to hold these companies accountable don’t even have a fundamental understanding of how these programs and digital cultures work?
(See the below video for a solid summary of the Facebook senate hearings).
In fact, all you have to do is search “Facebook senate hearings” on Youtube. (the second suggestion is “Facebook Senate Hearings Funny”) to get a feel for how the general public reacted to this particular issue.
In today’s age of digital convergence and technological advancements, there is a certain level of risk that we all have to understand and accept if we want to maintain our current lifestyle.
You could hope that a third-party organization out there can create some buffer to protect your data from the bigger corporations. But what’s to say that they’ll be ethical and responsible with your data as well?
To be truly private is impractical, and almost impossible without building your own platforms yourself. But it’ll be a long time until that imbalance is overcome, and until then, you as a digital citizen have to be able to answer the question.
How much risk are you willing to accept to live in the future?
This is Kip. See Kip Blog. 