Social media: easy to forget repercussions of words

As each day passes by, our dependance on digital technology grows to new heights. Does anyone imagine not being able to use social media to communicate with our loved ones and check on the news of the day? These digital town squares are where we are spending most of our time and this is a fact that we have grown comfortable with. The study on Digital Rights that I launched last month showed how much digital technology has affected Maltese society.

Social media, especially, has given most of us the courage to speak our minds, conscious of the fact that being behind a screen gives a sense of protection that would not be otherwise possible. At a time, where most of our interactions are happening virtually, it is easy to get carried away and forget about what repercussions our words may have. We mustn’t forget that the principles we hold dear when it comes to the traditional forms of interaction, such as respect for one another must also be applied to our virtual communication as well.

After all, what we write online and what we decide to share with our friends and family will remain present digitally for a very long time. Comments, statements and details of our private lives are there for all to see if we decide to share them in the first place. Over 91% of respondents to the study stated that privacy is important to them and yet this is often where our interest in privacy ends. Just a scroll up any news feed and you can find very personal information, including sharing details of where you live and your contact information.

Even though over 85% are aware of the fact that their data is being collected, this crucial information is still being shared online, especially by the younger generation. In fact, it is the 16-24 age bracket that are most likely to share their contact information, over 22.70% feel comfortable doing so and 36.40% also share locations they visited amongst other information that is shared daily.

It emerges that users are weighing the cost of giving up their privacy with the benefits of being a member of these social media networks. Users are feeling obliged to be full members of the new digital town squares and in turn, users feel they are also obliged to give out their data. This has led to a privacy trade off, whereby users are ready to give away control over their personal data in favour of a stronger presence in the virtual community.

The issue of privacy envelops all of our experiences in a digital word including all the websites that we visit. Each website that we log into has an obligation to provide a Privacy Agreement that every user needs to give their consent to. When participants where asked whether they accept the privacy agreement or change their preferences, 72.5% noted that they do not read the privacy agreement at all. Although the means exist in which users can retain their privacy online, it is clear that most are unwillingly giving full access to their data.

Although it is clear that more work needs to be done by legislators to ensure that these privacy agreements are more user friendly, it is up to us to decide whether we truly value our privacy or not. We must be aware of all the factors that apply when it comes to digital technology and make full use of the resources we have in hand, including privacy agreements.