The Comfort Level of My Personal Data Being Collected

Comfortable Technological Setting

There is definitely a large misconception behind the "privacy" of one's information, as well as how their data is being used for business purposes. The privacy that I'm familiar with is the one of which that I approve certain users of seeing: for example, my social media posts. I do understand that the website itself can still see what I am posting to my account.

As for day-to-day app usage, there are some apps that do save me a lot of time when I'm on my phone or my computer. A couple examples include LastPass, and the Starbucks app.

LastPass is a service where users can store their passwords and other sensitive information in a very secure medium. By medium, it is either in a Google Chrome application, or on the smartphone app. The service uses hashing and other advanced encryption methods to ensure that you are the only person who is able to access your information. 1 master password for all of your passwords. That might seem terrible: but in reality, as long as you have a strong master password and 2-factor authentication enabled, you should be safe. If there were to be a problem with the service, they have vowed to alert users if they needed to change their master password or something else along those lines. It is convenient because you can simply have a different password for every single app or website that you sign on to. One site gets hacked, only one password that you have to change. It's overall much less of a headache for me to remember all of my passwords, and a feeling of ease when managing my online life.

Binary Code Strings

With the Starbucks app, you are able order your drink in advance at a location of your choice, and keep track of your payment methods and rewards status. I do find this useful because I sometimes have anxiety while physically ordering something, and I can be more precise in terms of what I want in my drink without blabbing at the counter for more than 10 seconds. The only kind of data used by this app that I'm aware of is my location and payment methods. This is used particularly to pinpoint where I am in relation to the nearest Starbucks, and make me able to pay for my order in advance. Them having this information does not bother me at all. This information is crucial for the app to even work the way it is supposed to.

However, I am aware of many companies who have access to more of my data, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Some of the websites I shop on such as Etsy and Amazon use my browsing history in order to present an advertisement to a product I was looking at on another website that I visit. I really like when they suggest something new to me that I never thought of before. My aesthetic is always fluctuating, and it is nice to add onto it every once in a while.

The seemingly-scary methods of data tracking and collection don't even necessarily bother me. It's just how apps and services are supposed to work: I couldn't imagine another possible way of retrieving this information without breaching some kind of privacy. Information from this document by the Florida State University has some clear bullet-ed explanations to social media data collection in comparison to physical methods. And clearly, because of the heavy influence of social media on people such as myself, there's no way to avoid internet data collection. Social media companies are becoming stronger, and technology in general is becoming more advanced with many new innovations being introduced.

8 Reasons Why No One Should EVER Have A Bird As A Pet

1. They'll steal all of your clothes.

2. They can never get along with your other companions.

3. They're just vicious.

4. They'll eat you of your house!

5. They can never pull of a Halloween costume as good as you.

6. They do nothing all day!

7. AWWW!

8. THEY NEVER WANT TO BE AROUND ANYONE!

The Idea of One's Personality From Social Media

Various social media services on computer keys

On social media, our profiles, posts, likes, shares, mentions and replies all hold a key to our personality. It might not the physical version of you, as you may behave differently in real life environments. For me personally, I love to establish myself on a platform where it is neatly (or sometimes messily) laid out for everyone to see. This helps me because I am very shy and I am not initially upfront with someone about who I am. So, with the heavy influence of social media on today's society, there is definitely an ability to distinguish ourselves on the internet as beings (or slaves) of who we would like to possibly see ourselves as in reality.

A poster design

According to the document "Predicting Personality with Social Media" from the University of Maryland, it perfectly lays out the groundwork in expressing our mental capacities and the abilities of many social medias that we are attracted to every single day. Many indicators such as the "About Me" page can be considered huge goldmines for both the people looking at them and the websites collecting information. These profiles can be beneficial for establishing connections between various traits, and has been shown to be successful in maintaining both personal and professional relationships. Unless it's something about wanting an Arby's chicken sandwich all of the time... or constant dead memes... but hey! It's still valuable.

The evolution of our profiles and blogs alike can be a symbol of change in terms of fluctuation in aesthetics. From time to time, we dislike things that we start to obsess over, and begin our journeys into newfound interests that we never imagined of. For example, I went from an extremely serious Beatles stan to a more personally-established artist who finds joy in scrolling through poster and graphic design, as well as outfit ideas. It's kind of like going through an emo phase, but on social media.

If you're excellent at keeping a solid aesthetic, you could possibly become an important member of the business community. On modernaesthetics.com, it states that you can do this through many highly-trafficked websites and services. As long as you are being unique and can withstand your status for a long period of time, you're in for a potentially long and successful career!

Our social media presence can mean many things when it comes to eventual personal and business relationships. It can show us our true(or fake) selves, as well as become something that might just be the rest of your life... how about that for a post?