In the 18th century, Panopticon was created by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The Panopticon is a prison where inmates can be observed without their knowledge, creating a sense of constant surveillance. When you jump to the present day, the advancements in technology have transformed our world into a digital version of Bentham’s prison. We willingly surrender aspects of our privacy in exchange for the mobile and social apps we download all the time, but where do we draw the line?
Privacy is a basic human right, but in a world filled with technological advances, privacy can sometimes be traded for convenience, security, or other little perks. I am willing to sacrifice some privacy for the convenience and efficiency that we get from having iPhones and other smart devices. For example, I share my location with certain apps, like Uber and Doordash so that I can have the convenience of having food delivered to my door or being able to get a ride to an event with a few taps on my screen.
Despite that, there is a limit to the amount of privacy I am willing to give up. I would not be able to deal with invasive surveillance, data collection, and the distribution and selling of user data. These things violate the basic privacy we deserve as citizens, and if they are being done, they should be disclosed by the companies doing so. Those companies or the government should not have unlimited access to its citizens.
In exchange for privacy, I expect a multitude of rewards. I expect transparency from the companies collecting my data. If my information is being collected and used, I would like to know for what reason and who is going to have access to my data. I believe that the use of my private data should involve some type of compensation.
It is important to make sure that you keep a safe balance of privacy and “rewards,” especially in our modern society when there is always a reward being thrown at you just for accepting the user agreement on an app or website.