Do we know what we're talking about?
In typical John Oliver fashion, in his episode on Government Surveillance, he interviews random people on the street to ask them about their knowledge of government surveillance, specifically about Edward Snowden. If you start the video at about 6:30, you'll see how strangers answered his questions and why you should always fact check before answering anything on camera.
In typical John Oliver fashion, in his episode on Government Surveillance, he interviews random people on the street to ask them about their knowledge of government surveillance, specifically about Edward Snowden. If you start the video at about 6:30, you'll see how strangers answered his questions and why you should always fact check before answering anything on camera.
In a survey given to a Communications online class at The University of North Carolina, most of the students who answered said they have average knowledge of government surveillance. No one said they didn't know anything, but no one said they knew everything. Granted, this survey wasn't given to many people and the scale could be interpreted in different ways, but this is representative of how public opinions are created in the first place. Average citizens can get their information from anywhere and most aren't compelled to fact check, which leaves the general public in unknown confusion.
"Can I get a RETWEET?!"
According to a poll taken by the Pew Research Center, “70% of social networking site users say that they are at least somewhat concerned about the government accessing some of the information they share on social networking sites without their knowledge.”
This public concern brings up an interesting division in public perception of government surveillance. As a whole, most Americans seem to agree that some degree of government surveillance is necessary in order to keep American citizens safe, but the question is, are we willing to forgo our privacy on social media for said protection? It’s more than a little ironic that the general public said they were at least a little concerned about the government using their shared information when, arguably, the point of social media is indeed to communicate things to a larger, more broad audience.
In the same PEW research study mentioned above, a poll was taken that reported which communicative services Americans felt most secure in using to share “private information.” People’s reactions to different communication technologies have a direct correlation with how trustworthy they find a site; those that have heard “a lot” about government surveillance are less trustworthy of certain modes of communication than those that have heard “a little” about government surveillance (PEW, Public Privacy Perceptions).
There’s No Easy Explanation
If you use the Internet, you are creating a digital footprint. In an attempt to be as open as possible, defining “personal information” in the age of social media could literally mean any information that you feel describes you, but what do you think? Do you think the information you post on Facebook or Twitter is any less personal than your Social Security number or health records? The government has access to your Social Security information because Social Security is a function of the United States Government, but are you willing to forgo other “personal information” for the sake of protecting the United States?
This public concern brings up an interesting division in public perception of government surveillance. As a whole, most Americans seem to agree that some degree of government surveillance is necessary in order to keep American citizens safe, but the question is, are we willing to forgo our privacy on social media for said protection? It’s more than a little ironic that the general public said they were at least a little concerned about the government using their shared information when, arguably, the point of social media is indeed to communicate things to a larger, more broad audience.
In the same PEW research study mentioned above, a poll was taken that reported which communicative services Americans felt most secure in using to share “private information.” People’s reactions to different communication technologies have a direct correlation with how trustworthy they find a site; those that have heard “a lot” about government surveillance are less trustworthy of certain modes of communication than those that have heard “a little” about government surveillance (PEW, Public Privacy Perceptions).
There’s No Easy Explanation
If you use the Internet, you are creating a digital footprint. In an attempt to be as open as possible, defining “personal information” in the age of social media could literally mean any information that you feel describes you, but what do you think? Do you think the information you post on Facebook or Twitter is any less personal than your Social Security number or health records? The government has access to your Social Security information because Social Security is a function of the United States Government, but are you willing to forgo other “personal information” for the sake of protecting the United States?