Social Media 2#fer

Posted by Genero Accooe in English 3 · Pahomov · A Band on

Genero Accooe

4/22/18

English 3

Larissa Pahomov



Due to recent events, many people are questioning the safety of what we  humans call, social media. About 2 week ago, Facebook's creator, Mark Zuckerberg went on trial on Capitol Hill as Facebook was caught dealing information to Cambridge Analytica which is a company hired by President Donald Trump which deals with data mining and storing, and strategies for elections. The reality of all this is that this data can all be accessed from each and every Facebook account on the planet which begs the question, do we really care about the actual information or the just the assumption that people/ companies make out of that data? People often care about consent when it comes to information, and many people be upset if they found out that their info was being used or studied once it was too late. People The data is misrepresenting and goes against what they themselves choose to portray online.

The grilling on Capitol Hill was long and awkward to most as Mark Zuckerberg  answered many of the senators questions, some of which seemed obvious due to their nature. One quick question that Senator Blumenthal had asked Mr. Zuckerberg had made it clear that even Zuckerberg did not fully agree with people invading his privacy. Blumenthal asked the CEO of Facebook if he would care to tell the senators were Zuckerberg had stayed the other night and had his beliefs on privacy confirmed when Zuckerberg refused to reveal that info. It goes to show that even someone like Zuckerberg who created the website which has abused others personal information wouldn’t like their own info used. Like most people, Zuckerberg wouldn’t want complete strangers to know where he’s stayed due to the probable dangers that could come from people that would like to do him harm. It seems that it is only specific information that Zuckerberg would have liked to show since due to the image he would like to convey to the media. If Zuckerberg were to have had his location known at almost all times then he would come off as a vulnerable person which can be a damaging trait to people in power and if they had the choice, they would certainly not allow such information to be put out into the media.

Even though Mark Zuckerberg was the main focus of the grilling on Capitol Hill, it still leaves people to question the thought process of those over at Cambridge Analytica. Aleksandr Kogan, the app developer for Facebook said that his actions were justified due to the companies so called “(“The belief in Silicon Valley and certainly our belief... was that the general public must be aware that their data is being sold and shared and used to advertise to them," - Kogan) In response to the interview, Cambridge Analytica said that they assumed that the data they were given did not violate data protection legislations and even began to ask consent from other users. This change of actions shows that the company saw some sort of problem with the way they gathered information and ultimately proves that they saw it shouldn’t be their choice to do as they please with others information but also shows that people often .

People often forget the risks of social media when it comes to their own privacy and take many of their choices lightly. They come in the form of blindly accepting the user agreement terms papers, posting or liking things that may end up damaging their own image, but the one thing that separates the two is that when humans do things against their will they revolt and become angry. Humans constantly battle for their free will, and constantly fight to make sure they are in complete controll of their lives and the ways in which thoes lives are percieved. The problem was not that Cambridge used data, it’s that it was against the will of thoes it came from.




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