Tracking Pandemics

When was the last time that you were not tracked? Adjusting to the new pandemic world and an adaption to the merge of offline and online selves.

The sudden pandemic has allowed for our offline lives to merge with our online lives more than ever before. We are forced to remain immobile and complete routine activities via the virtual world. As our technological future continues to unfold into this merging of selves via the unprecedented state of emergency, the golden question becomes somewhat clearer: do you prefer privacy or convenience?

Even though the question becomes more apparent with the sudden increase in virtual activity, the answer could not be construed at a more difficult time. As we Zoom with professors and work from home, we are doing our part by attempting to corral the pandemic. We are simultaneously surrendering a previously offline version of our lives to websites and software that can use this information as they please. Remember, you do not own your data. Personal information is being collected more than ever before, so it is of the upmost importance to be weary and mindful of what you share online.

Think back for a second. When was the last time that your personal information was not collected? When was the last time you left your cell phone at home? Does your car have a GPS in it? Are you wearing any type of tech, such as a smartwatch? Because of the cool tech in exchange for an over collection of our data, we have become desensitized to what is personal to us and what is not. The development of the internet has shown a vast change in the desire to contain anonymity online into our own type of personal doxing that is executed when we provide companies and websites with data, either relevant or irrelevant to the product, whether we are knowing or not. Technology is not a bad thing, but it must be used in a privacy preserving manner in order to secure our digital future.

We are already tracked dry. These companies have already taken so much of what we were led to believe was private and secure. With the new wave of virtual life that has stemmed from the pandemic, the need for encryption and privacy and security for Americans is dire.

SpaceX has even banned its employees from working via Zoom, citing immense security flaws.

Isn’t it funny how Facebook always appears?

The South African government is now tracking users cell phone data in order to prevent the pandemic.

“Covid-19 tracing” is understandable to control the crazy situation that the world is in. But don’t we have rights? What are our rights? Technology and government are blurry and coagulated and a total mess. Now is the time to take control of your virtual self and understand the implications of the allowance of your data to run wild.

Read this if you have nothing to hide.