Privacy Is Power: Why and how you should take Back Control Of Your Data


By: Carissa Veliz 


 Have you ever got the impression of being watched even though you’re all alone in your space, zoned out from the world and the people you’re surrounded with? Have you ever felt like someone is listening to your conversations, even the most private ones? Have you ever thought to yourself, am I going crazy and delusional? Well, congratulations you’ve made it to the creepy side of BookTalk.

Spooky season have ended and now we’re shifting into the Merry Cherry season of hot chocolate, Toffee Nut Lattes, and endless warm conversations. Yet, we can still speak of spooky creepy stuff around the fireplace while having our warm hot chocolate with marshmallows! 

As Christmastide is approaching, shopping emporiums hold massive sales that are being heralded all around the Internet community. Yes, via the internet and not through the old-time papers and signs that were showcased on the streets. Modern advertisements are normal, nothing suspicious so far. I mean why would an ad on Instagram or twitter appear to be weird to us right?. But imagine scrolling through your Instagram feed and out of nowhere an ad pops up. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I literally needed this product" or "I was just talking about it to my spouse". Nah, you’ve been oblivious and thought that it’s a normal product which is being advertised and demanded by everyone. Unfortunately, this is not how internet marketing works. Consumers who are basically you and I, are targeted on daily bases without being aware. I mean your credit card bill is high on top of the ceiling due to the unnecessary purchases you have once made while having a tub of ice-cream when your boyfriend broke up with you. But this is not the case. YOU, as a sad person with an ice-cream tub, have been targeted and specifically chosen to look at the ad, knowing that you will purchase it. Which you eventually did .. 

The aforementioned piece could be a chilling introduction to start with. However, security integrity can ne’er be out of sight. The book I’ll take you through today concerns the internet community and how our privacy is being broken and attacked with just simple clicks and scrolls on the social platform. Regardless of where you are and how secured your phone/laptop or any kind of the technological advanced devices you have, they can still monitor you. They know you, they have studied you, even though you can’t see them, but they exist everywhere in your very own comfort place.

Privacy is certainly Power. A powerful phrase as this also constructs the puissant title of our beloved and shielded book we’re diving in today. Privacy is Power: Why and How you should take control of your Data, By: Carissa Veliz. 

The indicated book is a masterpiece that I believe everyone should and need to have on their desks and not their shelves. Carissa Veliz is a technology and security enthusiast, I mean once you scrutinize the book and start turning the pages, one after another, you would see and conclude how important technological security is to her (and eventually to you). In her book, she discussed all forms of technological machines/bots and how they can cause a boomerang effect on us. Not only that, but she also elaborated on how our dependency on those advanced machines are literally putting our privacy and private lives on edge. As a result, Ms/Mrs. Veliz have listed down all the products we assume are normal and helpful, but they cause an indirect harm in accordance to our privacy, without us knowing. All in all, I’ll be discussing and reviewing all the major and super important points that Carissa Veliz have emphasized on within the book. My aim is to open your eyes on those kinds of simple actions and clicks that go by on daily bases. I don’t mean to scare you and take you back to the 18th century, I’m just trying to alert you to be more careful with your scrolls *wink wink* .

Maybe politics is an important aspect to start with, I mean we do live in countries with leaders and citizenships. However, with technology and the internet taking over, our world revolves around the machines ahead of us and the ones in our hands. Yes, I’m specifically referring to your smartphones, laptops, and tablets that you’re currently using to read this blog post. By the way, do you think I specifically choose YOU to read this blog?. Maybe yes and maybe not. Just kidding, don’t freak out I’m not Joe Goldberg .. 

 

A bit of spookiness would do good to wake you up in here. 

 

As mentioned, our world revolves around the internet and what happens within the internet community. Nowadays, academic degrees and advanced academic degrees are not that important. As long as you have your SMARTPHONE with a good camera and a view, you can keep on blogging your life, skincare and all the nonsense that people nowadays do for money. AHAA !, there it is, MONEY. When it comes to maintaining a stable life in a certain country, one would lay hold of all the academic certificates due to its importance for job qualifications. However, as I mentioned, none of the academic certificates are important. As a result of the failed attempt for employment, you’ll turn into a social media aficionado, sharing your information and data all around the internet community for money. Is this how everything works now?. I mean we can simply press on the button and speak for hours and get cash for it?. Wow, what a wonderful world to live in, normal people and citizens turning into virtual beings and techno freaks. As Veliz have stated in the book "The Surveillance society has transformed citizens into users and data subjects". With a slight swift, click and tick, you are subjecting yourself and consenting to have your data be collected while you shop or even watch the useless blogs and daily lives of the so-called social media celebrities. By the way, their profit and income are a result of your clicks and views. To elaborate, please stop making stupid people famous and please stop subjecting yourself for surveillance and technological studies that are being conducted on you, caused by your private information circulating the internet as a consequence of your clicks and scrolls.

Do me a favor and take a moment to look at your surroundings. What do you see? Well, I guess you are viewing your Alexa on the side corner, your phone is defiantly either next to you or in your hands, your laptop, your Smart TV etc. The question is, have you ever considered the reality of those devices? who and what are those? They are mechanical smart machines for sure, but can’t you see for yourself that real humans are being replaced by them? . Can’t you tell the reason behind such a widely spread action? Well, I can answer that for you, it’s because of your dependency on them. You started to train your mind, body, and soul on their existence in terms of helping you tick off chores on your to do list or even remind you of someone’s special event like your partner’s birthday. It is a sad world we live in, a world we created and supported due to the belief that technology is the future

They are known as smart-(name the product). However, the harm caused by them are a lot creepier than one could ever imagine. Speaking of our dependency on technology, In her book, Carissa Veliz, listed down the reasons on why those smart mechanical devices are making our lives more miserable and us more stupid in terms of dependency on them. Not only that, but every issue has certain solutions connected to them. Our smart author in here also listed a bunch of solutions on how to ease and decrease our dependency on such machines. I’m not going over the solutions in this post. However, you can study them after getting the book, for I’ll be providing annotations of the discussed topics as well as the solutions Carissa Veliz have provided within the book. Happy reading everyone!

Speaking of Apple Tv’s and other Smart screen-based products/devices. How smart can they be?. Are they smarter than a skilled human brain?.  I mean you can connect your phone on them, play music and watch endless movies and shows. Yet, have you ever thought about your TV spying on you?. The answer would definitely be a sharp NO. You’d say, why would my TV spy and inspect my stupid conversations. Withal, your TV is smarter than you think. it’s all about data. Yes, collecting data through your conversations, saving them, and eventually using them against your will and not in your benefit. In the book, Veliz stated an important example that we never thought of, and that is our Smart TV’s and how they can listen and record us even when the TV is turned off. As she stated in the book in regard to this point, by itemizing a brand.   "Samsung TV included the following warning: Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party. Even when you think you’ve turned your TV off, it might still be on".

 

The watch you have had on your wrist before the so-called smartwatches, were SMART even though they did not have the tiny screen that allows one to tap and scroll on. Allow me to inspect you of something, did you know that your smart watch understands you better than your friends and family and even your doctor? Yes, your doctor who is responsible for all your health issues and results. As I said, our shift to the virtual world is caused by our dependency on the specified machines and bots. Hence, we are witnessing an era of technological dependency on the simplest tasks that humans like you, and I can defiantly do. Taking an example of a simple wake-up call by an alarm or even your mom. However, smart watches nowadays tend to do the job perfectly. With just a nudge and a vibration on your wrist, you would sip your morning coffee!. Not only that, but the smartwatch you own also takes a good care of you. I mean in cases where you have overslept and missed an exam, your smart beloved watch would wake you up to assure that you’re alive. I’ll end this component by asking you a question that we all need to keep philosophizing on, and it is as follows. Why are we referring to advanced tech devices/machines as Smart?

Finally, Alexa whom we consider as an additional family member regardless of her robotic tone and eerie responses, is highly depended on by us, to balance our standard of living and also manage our daily chores/events. As a result, no one would ever suspect Alexa’s technological rectitude. In the book, the author stated an important piece of evidence that makes one wonder about the true meaning and aim behind this friendly and not friendly smart bot. it has been proven by studies, statistics, and conspiracy theorist that Alexa saves Data. This kind of dense information is not an easy pill to swallow. However, I’d like to keep you all thinking on the fact on how and why Alexa immediately sends messages to your contacts when you ask her to do so, how does she recall special events, and most importantly how can she recommend songs and activities when you’re having a bad day. Those kinds of questions left me triggered about this tiny bot and now it’s my obligation to keep you pondering with no further details. 

Moving on to the virtual actions such as clicks. We constantly click on random links, apps etc., on daily bases. However, we never thought about the random emails we receive and send. Security alerts in regard to safeguarding our personal information within the internet community have been circulating the cyberspace for a long time. Not only that, but those alerts were specified apropos sharing personal information through online correspondence. Yet, we have all ignored such alarms and proceeded on with our endless clicks and scrolls. The emails we have sent over the past years are all considered as important data. Yes, data again.  To construct a manageable perception on this argument, I’ll provide you with an example. just recall an email you have received about your favorite shoe brand or your latest book purchase. You might think to yourself, what about them. But the thing is that you have been sharing your personal data online by either clicking or purchasing an unnecessary item. As a result, you are currently receiving more and more ads VIA YOUR EMAIL about an identical or different product, with the same taste. Please my dear reader, keep in mind the word TASTE. Your taste in products is an important aspect to be taken into consideration within the commercial and internet community. Because this is one of the multiple ways where one would be a target for such a thing. As the author stated in the book "Opening an email allows third parties to track you across the web ..". 

Wait I’m not done YET. 

Do you recall your latest click on the so called I agree on all Cookies. And no, I’m definitely not referring to your fudgy double chocolate chip cookies under your bed. I’m literally referring to the technological cookie. It’s the tiny tec cookie that is responsible for collecting more data on your behalf. Maybe that’s a wakeup call for you, reconsidering the latest cookie you agreed on. However, we all clicked and agreed on the cookie tab to proceed with our scrolls in a specific site. But we never thought to ourselves what this cookie is all about, is it sweet as it sounds. NO, my friend it’s not as sweet. This tiny cookie is responsible for collecting and saving your data which allows browsers to track you down and eventually target you into purchasing more unnecessary shoes or even more chocolates and real cookies. As the author stated in her book "‘cookie’, a small piece of data that identifies visitors on websites, to access users’ personal data, including browsing history, before the user even clicked on an ad ". 

A single thought that might have popped into your minds now and it is, am I that important to be tracked through the internet community? I mean this have always been my skeptic argument in regard to online safety. However, without us being targeted online, well-known stores and brands would not have developed and have their GDP increase tremendously throughout the years. Not to forget the scams that people until this very second are going through and proceed with, without even knowing, until it’s too late. 

2020 is the year of technology to me. I mean with COVID-19, we all turned into virtual beings who depended on preforming their daily chores using those apps. COVID-19 is an important phase to show and prove that technology is not always dreadful and negative, you just have to be vigilant on how to use it and who to share your information with. I would love to admit and say that without those apps, we would not have survived and ate healthy delicious food during the pandemic. However, with countries being more flexible and fluid in terms of going back to the normal routine and lifestyle, I believe our dependency on those apps must be balanced. I’m not saying we need to get rid of those apps. No, because they are defiantly important, as I myself use and depend on. HOWEVER, we just need to be careful in the internet community as I and the author have emphasized on in the book.  

With all the things listed above, I assume you are creeped out and feel like dumping all your technological devices and delete all your social media and email accounts. Nonetheless, this is not how everything works. I’ll repeat myself and tell you that it’s all about being careful on the subject of balancing our technological dependency and usage. I mean in this era; we can never omit technology. Technology is a dominant aspect in our lives. It eased our survival in many ways, especially in the age of pandemics and disease. All in all, whilst the book emphasized on the pessimistic view of technology that I agree with too, technology and its ancestry is part of our lives. Which is why we are compelled to be careful and cautious all the time. 

In the end I’d like to entertain you with two important quotes from the book, in hopes of influencing you to develop your own theory and opinion in regard to this topic. 

 

-       "Privacy is like the key that unlocks the aspects of yourself that are most intimate and personal. That most make you YOU". (Pg. 55).

 

-       "This is not the end of privacy. Rather, it is the beginning of the end of surveillance capitalism". (Pg. 246). 

 

 

Recommended Pages from the Book.


·      Being watched through technology (Pg. 1-2).

 

·      Citizens to users (Pg.4).


·      Smart-TV, (Pg. 9-10).


·      Smart-Watch, (Pg.8).


·      Alexa, (Pg.11).


·      Emails, (Pg. 14). 


·      Cookies, (Pg. 38).


·      COVID and technology, (Pg. 2/203/204/).


·      Solutions: WHAT TO DO?? (Chapter 6, Pg. 211-242). 


Feel Free to share your thoughts !

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