Response to Dossier Chapter & Public Displays of Affection

Summary 1:

Born Digital by Palfrey & Gasser

• Chap.2: Dossiers

This chapter was mostly about the negatives of having so much personal information on digital records and systems. People today are dealing with a loss of privacy due to the fact all of their personal info is in digital format and how easily accessed the information is. They mentioned the term "digital dossier", which is ALL of the personal digital information of a person, accessible or not. That includes a Myspace profile, Social Security records, birth certificate, and more. The people guilty of this information overload include companies, hospitals, governments, families, friends, and sometimes the person themselves. This is definitely a new age. Back in previous times, first off there weren't many ways to store information and even when the means became available there were still moderate limitations. Now, all one has to do is google a name and many different details about the person, sometimes incriminating, will pop up. It seems that we have traded control over our info for the convenience of having the info available whenever we want it. Sure, it's convenient now, but will it be so in the future?

Summary 2:

Public Displays of Connection by Donath & Boyd

This article was similar to Chap. 2 in Born Digital in that it elaborated on how personal information has become so public nowadays specifically due to social networking sites. Some of the problems it addressed were possible identity theft and people on the sites not being who they claim to be. One specific problem a female teacher had was with the overall visibility of her connections on popular site, Friendster. Many of her students were on the site trying to add her as a friend but she denied them because she didn't want them to see her risque' list of friends. This problem is common throughout the social networking world.

What Surprised Me!
It surprised me when I realized that sometimes I, like many, don't take a second thought before putting my personal info on the web. I flood it with pictures and details about my whereabouts and what I'm doing. I guess I subconsciously think that no one is going to take advantage of the information or use it against me, but I need to start thinking twice now before I do those things.

Ponder This...
"Is equipping your child with a tracking device or installing a camera in your home a good idea to keep track of your child or is that taking it to the extreme?"