Is Social Media watching us?
When you are using social media like Instagram or Tiktok, do you ever feel that the video recommendations are almost too perfect? Well you are not alone. In fact, these apps will monitor you and use any keywords or clues that you give the app. Apps will do all of this without your consent or your knowledge. This to most would seem like not only a breach of privacy, but also surveillance as well.
Personal Story with Social Media
Multiple of my friends back home have had their social media accounts hacked and stolen from them by scammers and hackers. These scammers would then use their likeliness to try and get closer to others to obtain their data and gain access to their accounts.
Once these scammers gain access to these accounts they would message me and attempt to act like my friend. They would then send me a link for me to clink and hope that I clicked on it so that they would gain access to my account and information as well. This tactic is called Phishing and it utilizes a person likeliness to get close to an individual. Once the scammers think they have a persons trust, they would send a link that would allow the scammers to gain control of the victims account.
Online Anecdote
One of the more large social media breaches occurred with Playstation's Twitter account in 2017. The Sony account was breached and was hijacked by the hacker group known as OurMine. This hacker group released numerous different tweets and even claimed to had access to the Playstation Network Database which contains private information for every Playstation account. Although this had caused great fear among everyone who had a Playstation account, Sony eventually regained access to it's Twitter account.
Even huge corporations like Sony can have accounts hijacked and hacked by outsiders. This arises the question why is security for social media so bad and how can your privacy be breached?
How can Social Media Breach your Privacy?
Some social media companies will access some data that you may have thought was private and only for you to access. This includes your location, name, and any other private profile info you may have on your account. Now normally social media companies will use your data to recommend the best videos for you and give you the best experience. However, some advertisers or scammers may also get their hands on your data which could pose a much bigger security threat.
Social Media also has the highest number of accounts that are hacked every year. This makes it a little scary for some individuals who fear they are at risk for their private information being stolen just from having a social media account.
Does Social Media Track you?
You may be asking yourself, How does social media gain all this info on users without directly asking them what they want to see on their feed. Well the answer to that is something that is often overlooked by most, cookies. You may have always wondered what it means when you go on a website and accept cookies. Well these cookies are little pieces of text with pieces of data. This data normally consists of your username, password, etc... But the point of these cookies are to improve the users experience using a website. However, some sites will use these cookies to gain more knowledge on the user and try to use it to their advantage.
How does this relate to Surveillance Capitalism?
Surveillance capitalism is pretty much the surveillance and observation of your online activity and data online. Pretty much big companies watching your activity online and using it to their advantage. An example of surveillance capitalism is maybe you decided to buy some Christmas lights online. then all of a sudden all you are advertised online is Christmas decorations. This is surveillance capitalism, these companies see what you have been looking at and start recommending items similar to what you were looking at.
So how does this relate to social media? Well some social media companies will look at what you are watching and start to recommend some similar videos based on how you interacted with the video. Now this can be as obvious as liking a video to receive similar content. But something as unnoticeable as your video watch time can be used by companies to recommend content for you to consume.
How to Increase your Privacy and Security using Social Media
One of the easiest and most simple ways to protect yourself with social media is just not to use any. Now for most this might not seem like an option, and luckily there are others ways to protect yourself and your data online.
2-Factor Authentication is the most effective way to keep your social media accounts protected from scammers, hackers, or anyone that wants to gain un-authorized access to your account. This method of protection uses your cellphone, email, or however you receive messages. So once you log into your social media app, you will receive a code that must be entered into the app otherwise you will not have access to your account. This makes it nearly impossible for hackers to gain access to your information making this method of security very effecitve.
Rejecting all cookies is another way to keep you data secure and not have any website access that data will keep it more safe and protected. Using a VPN is another very effective way to stay safe anonymous online. A VPN will keep you under the radar from online companies who want your data. There are also many different web browsers suck as DuckDuckGo which will not track your search history.
Social Media Isn't all Bad
Although this website made social media to be a bad thing and something that is only made to steal data and breach your privacy. Social media can actually be a really good way for people to connect with one another without actually being in person. It is a way to share something cool you experienced and a way you can see what others have been up to. Although social media has quite a few negatives, if used correctly, it can be something that can bring positivity to many.
Citations
- https://blog.hubspot.com/service/social-listening
- https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/cookies?srsltid=AfmBOoq11eG7g71r4B9gs-WCBpeoaCQkZeC6z5a1OWYaqNFDqjZFAzVv
- https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-surveillance-capitalism-and-how-does-it-shape-our-economy-119158
- https://surveillanceguides.com/avoiding-internet-surveillance-the-complete-guide/
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