A Modicum of Transparency

The condition of our privacy is being questioned as the reputations of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook are being destroyed in the headlines. Do we give ourselves up to Big Brother too readily? What effects do such open societies have? Is a society like that even open?

In order to elicit particular responses from the people, the media poses these questions. Typically, the media favors pictures of a dictatorial society set against a dismal landscape of grey skyscrapers and tapering feelings. Ironically, the media's promotion of our thinking about these issues suggests they wish to alter the way we think, in contrast to their warnings about social media brainwashing the populace. In particular, they seek to persuade us to accept their skewed points of view and narratives.

Some of us post every detail of our life on the internet, a place full of amazing and terrible possibilities, with the goal of having the public's likes and comments monitored. But when it's made clear that such surveillance doesn't come from the limited group we'd like it to, we're outraged. Numerous publications now detail the ways that Facebook and other data-hoarding businesses, like Google, have gathered information about our lives, maintaining the Big Brother image. For instance, this Guardian article's opening statements, "Are you ready?" and "Want to scare yourself out?" indicate that, despite our pretense of openness on social media, we are not yet prepared to disclose all of our secrets. Selective transparency online is a myth that has recently been dispelled in the press. Although we were unprepared, we probably should have anticipated how our personal information was being utilized and abused based on works of fiction like Orwell's 1984. The Guardian article appears to have overlooked the fact that surveillance tropes are common in both literature and movies, especially given our increasing reliance on technology: "The collection of our personal information goes well beyond what many of us might fathom." Many of us can picture it, have seen it, and have read about it.

Then, should social media be feared or embraced? We like the drama, the suspense, the commotion, and the sharing because we are a social animal. The claim that social media creates a validation loop, as made by former Facebook CEO Chamath Palihapitiya, in which one needs a specific number of likes in order to feel worthy in the eyes of our niche audience, has some merit. Palihapitiya also makes reference to how websites like Facebook unintentionally train our feelings and behaviors. To a certain extent, this is accurate. We now communicate in ways that have never been altered, both for better and bad, thanks to social media.

But as was already noted, it's not just social media that's seeking to unknowingly program us; the mainstream media also makes an effort to alter our perceptions, just like anything we come into contact with does. That is what socializing entails. We rely on our brains to sort through the good and poor information as we develop and learn from one another. Questioning things, challenging our own ideas, and refraining from using strong technologies without thinking should all be encouraged. In the end, it is up to us to decide what technologies we employ and what narratives we accept.

We are a gregarious, intellectual species that enjoys creating things. The former, however, is easier to focus on and makes for a far better news story since it shares a thin border with devastation. However, because they not only make our lives easier but also more exciting, technology and social media are instruments that help us to foster this love within us. Personally, I'm glad to be experiencing this exciting and turbulent period with everyone, and I can't wait for the next technical breakthrough.