Welcome to the Digital Age. In today's connected
world, we're living much of our lives online.
As a result, companies everywhere are creating large
storehouses of data on all of us. The most
obvious information being collected is social
media data. Everything you post publicly
and some cases privately, is being stored
and analyzed. But it's not just social media,
there's now a digital record of everything
you buy, everything you watch, where you go
and what happens at your house. Even your
physical characteristics are tracked and stored.
All of this data is being used to create profiles
of us. Using unique algorhythms, they are
able to cater marketing strategies directly
to you. Some groups are even profiling your
personality to specially adapt their interaction
with you. The aggregation and storage of this
data is becoming one of the most profitable
enterprises on the planet. Everything you
post, tweet about, like, and more is being
collected. Even the location from where you
post can be gathered, and can be tracked in
real-time, putting you at risk. Even after
social media accounts are deleted, personal
information can still be collected through
a variety of means. After all is said and
done, it is important to know what is being done
with your data, and to make informed decisions
on what you post. You don't have to stop tweeting,
you don't have to abandon social media, just
ask yourself these questions before you post:
Am I OK with this existing forever? Am I OK
with this being read by anyone? Am I OK with
this being used to profile who I am? If so...post
away! Enjoy social media responsibly. For
more information please visit, go.illinois.edu/SMPrivacy
