Paolo Ramos/Staff Writer
In the society we live in today, information is exchanged at an increasing rate. From private federal documents on Wikileaks to the millions of status updates on Facebook, the appetite for information is insatiable.
One of the primary concerns with this exchange is privacy- the security of the content being circulated. Today, there can no longer be 100 percent of certainty that anything documented will remain private and confidential.
The advent of social networking has opened up the debate on how exactly information should be handled and shared over the Internet. On Facebook and other social networking websites, users are encouraged to disclose as much information about themselves as possible.
The introduction of website applications such as the “Like” button has given users the ease of creating a virtual collage of their personal preferences. It allows users to link their profiles to things that interest them, updating them with the latest bits of information. Along with other social networking features, such as status updates and checking-in applications such as Foursquare, one only needs to look at somebody else’s profile to glean a wealth of information.
However, what most users do not realize is that by pressing that “Like” button, they are giving any marketing analyst on the other end all the information they have uploaded onto their profile. This not only applies to businesses, but also to everything from musicians and recording artists to federal and intelligence agencies.
A more recent development has allowed for the forcing of certain ads to a user’s profile determined by the things they have “Liked.” The idea that somebody can have access to your personal details with just the click of a button is disturbing.
On a larger scale, there has been a shift in confidence in the political spheres of many countries due to the rise in prominence of Wikileaks, a website that leaks classified information to the public from anonymous sources. Some of the information that has been leaked includes intelligence reports from the U.S. Department of Defense and information regarding the war in Afghanistan.
In regard to the war in Afghanistan, Wikileaks has revealed some disturbing details such as the killing of civilians by American soldiers. On the other hand, it has also provided an intimate perspective into the inner mechanisms of the war, as well as details of other isolated incidents internationally. Wikileaks is currently sitting on the brink exposing the corruption within Bank of America, which is sure to give the public a different perspective on something as personal and sensitive as finances.
Wikileaks has allowed the public an alternative, unbiased perspective of the inner workings of the governments of many countries, and the once inaccessible details to things that have the potential to impact the common individual directly. Most importantly, it has brought into question the potential threats that such leaked information could pose to national security.
From personal confidentiality to national security, the world is undergoing an immense paradigm shift with how our information is being used and analyzed. There is a scramble going on in order to secure as much information as possible. This is easier said than done. Facebook alone requires a complicated process in order to limit certain information to the many friends a person can have.
One can only imagine the complexities of national security when compared to Facebook. With the sensitive state of the political and economic structures of many countries, Wikileaks has potentially opened up a pandora’s box that is seemingly impossible to seal. The most important lesson anyone can learn today is to think twice before typing anything into their “About Me” section or simply pressing the “Like” button.
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