The terms of privacy and social life are rapidly changing in our digital age. But with people living in an unprecedented condition of ubiquitous surveillance, and our personal data protection being the foundational issue of the digital world, what will the future bring? Is there any hope for better and safer times ahead?
The last ten years have constantly highlighted how personal privacy in the internet era doesn’t actually exist. Whether we’re talking about third party apps selling our digital trace, Facebook leaking our data, or incompetent companies leaving consumer information openly exposed, we’ve pretty much seen it all.
Unfortunately, the future prognosis doesn’t look very promising either. As data becomes more open, and individuals are more willing than ever to give up privacy for the reasons of ease, fastness, and convenience, our personal privacy online is going to continue to shift to a lack-there-of.
Why The Future Looks Dark In Terms Of Online Safety?
As current trends clearly picture it, consumer tracking keeps increasing, and in the nearest future, almost all the data entered online will be considered ‘fair game’ for purposes of analytics and producing ‘user-driven’ ads. With all these, many individuals have yet to realize the gravity of the situation, and the major impact their digital identity can have on their real lives.
But what exactly is going on?
Beyond hackers and identity thieves, there are two even bigger forces that have no intention whatsoever to change the way the Internet looks and functions today.
First and foremost, most governments have better control when people are tracked. And when we talk about government or corporate surveillance make no mistake thinking anything we do online is still private. Pretty much everything we do can be tracked now from every cell phone tower we pass, every friend we follow, every article we write, and any site we visit.
Secondly, marketers want to know who clicks what, so that they can better fine tune their sales pitches. To survive in the constantly growing e-commerce pool, companies will become more sophisticated in tracking people simply because it is in their best interest to do so.
What Is Left To Do?
The future looks scary for our online privacy and security but this doesn’t mean that we should just give up. The more people will become aware of the importance of taking all measures to keep their data private, as well as getting to know and use privacy laws in their favor, the easier will be for all of us to secure our digital identity.
The online is both a vast and complex world, and for many people, using it can be not only confusing but also frustrating. When in need of help, internet privacy experts can provide you with actionable insights regarding your online footprint and the measures you can take if you wish to stop exposing yourself to various risks. You can learn how to protect your identity online or how to erase your digital footprint, and protect yourself from most common internet privacy risks.
