DO I STILL HAVE PRIVACY?

Everyone uses the internet whether it’s for work, education or recreation. We sign up to many different sites that all have their own terms and conditions outlining their uses policy and many other things. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem; after all would people really sign a lengthy legal document without reading it first and finding out what they were committing to? The answer would almost always be no, no one would take the chance that they were signing away something important like their privacy. However when it comes to the internet there seems to be a different protocol that is generally followed. The problem is that most people are so impatient to get to where they are going, ‘the end point’ of the website so that they can start using these websites, such as Facebook, that they never really pay attention. The majority of people never stop to actually read the terms and conditions instead they just hit the accept square and continue with the registration process. The problem being that they have essentially said 'Yes' to something without knowing what they have automatically agreed to: added to this is the ridiculously 'long' legal contract it is unreasonable to expect everyone might read or understand!

Throughout our continued use of the internet we are being inspected, through mediums such as cookies, worms and perhaps the biggest one Google earth/street view. Most people value their privacy but very few realise how little privacy they have once they open a web browser. For example with Google street view, you can get such a good view of someone’s house that you can count the cracks on the exterior walls. Social media sites constantly track user’s likes and dislikes and even go so far as to tailor make what advertisements are seen by each user, possibly creating a very narrow-minded view of the world for that individual if they are constantly bombarded with similar stuff, where then is the possibility of growth or new learning’s and appreciation?

The major surveillance though is unavoidable. Users do retain the power to say 'no', but then they are unable to access the websites that they wish to, so they always say 'yes' to avoid lock out. Users will give up their privacy, so the uninhibited access to the internet won’t be compromised. People would never want their privacy compromised in an off web situation, so why then are they always so quick to tick accept when it comes to internet sites' terms and conditions and consequently have their online privacy compromised?