Free Argumentative Essay On Social Networking Sites And Privacy

In the present era of communication innovations, social networking sites have become a major part of a person’s daily routine. Some may say that they could not live a day without visiting their Facebook profile or posting on Twitter. But one major issue that is associated with the way these technologies are going on is the loss of privacy. People could not be really sure that what they are posting or including in the social networking sites are safe from other people. Social networks, law makers and the online users could be responsible for the lack of user’s privacy on social networking sites. Between these three, online users itself is responsible for their own loss of privacy since they are not aware of the issue of privacy loss, they are responsible for all their actions and they should be careful on what they are sharing to the internet.
The analogy of the privacy loss of online users of social networking sites is the same as a person having a tattoo. A picture, comment, post and anything a person includes in the social networking sites is like a personal tattoo. It will be on the internet or social networking sites forever as long as the person does not remove it. The personal tattoo on the social networking sites could be used describe the person who include it. In this analogy, the one who is responsible is the person itself who agrees to have a permanent tattoo or in this case, the one who post the picture or comment. The tattoo artist is the social network who only provides the needs of the person.
Privacy is not the same as it once was. It the past, people only used diaries to share their own feelings, thoughts and experience and keep them in their own lockers or drawers. However, it was changed by blogs, posts, and other things which they include in their own social media accounts. In the first place, these feelings, thoughts and experiences, or in general, a person’s privacy is safe from other people if they kept it properly. It is true that socializing or social interaction is essential for an individual’s social development. However, it does not mean that people have to share all their feelings, thoughts and experiences in order to have social interaction.
People usually blame social network for their poor service in protecting their user’s personal privacy. There are several issues about how social networks and their partners such as Facebook and Zynga tried to acquire personal data from the people without them noticing it. It is an issue that could blame social networks for the lack of user’s privacy on the social networking sites. However, these social networks are only successful in their business as provider of social media since people are letting them to be successful. People are using their services every day and the demand on social media is very high.
According to Thompson (np), “The more we do online, the better companies get at tracking us, and the more accurate and detailed the data they glean from us becomes.” In general, people have the power to change the course of technology associated with social networking but they are only letting the social networks to have control over us. In addition, “Facebook is a powerful tool, and the reason that so many people slip up on the site is that we fail to appreciate its power” (Manjoo np).
Some people also argue that the law makers are also responsible for the lack of privacy of the online users on the social networking sites. It is true that the government lack actions or policies in protecting the privacy of the people using social media. There are cyber-crimes which the law makers fail to provide some actions. However, people also lack the awareness or public attention about the privacy issue on social networking. Sometimes, people do not know that what they include in the social networking sites could be used against them or could be used by other people.
When the policy makers implemented the full-body scanners in the airports, there was an outcry from the people (Lam np). They argue that their personal space could be invaded. But when there is an issue about privacy loss in the social media, most people do not care. In general, law makers do not provide actions to the lack of privacy in the social media due to the lack of public attention towards the issue.
Social networking is a very powerful aspect of the modern technology and it could revolutionize how people have social interactions. However, people fail to understand its power. But it does not mean that social networks and law makers are responsible for this issue. People will always have the power to change the trend of technology. The issue of privacy loss in the social networking sites is a responsibility of the users itself and we are all to blame. People should lessen their time socializing in the social media sites if they want to have more personal privacy. People should always be careful in what they are doing or including in the social media.

Works Cited:

Lam, Andrew. Privacy is Lost and We are all to blame. The New America Media. 2013. Web. http://newamericamedia.org/2013/07/privacy-is-no-more-and-we-are-all-guilty.php.
Manjoo, Farhad. It’s not all Facebook’s Fault. Technocracy. 2011. Web. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technocracy/2011/11/facebook_privacy_you_re_as_much_to_blame_for_the_site_s_privacy_woes_as_mark_zuckerberg_.html.
Thompson, Nicolas. Bigger Brother: The Exponential Law of Privacy Loss. The New Yorker. 2011. Web. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/bigger-brother-the-exponential-law-of-privacy-loss.