The internet never forgets - Be careful what you put out there
Till today, I don't understand why people post themselves half-dressed on social media.
Source
As I sat in the salon waiting for my turn to braid my hair, I scrolled through Facebook out of boredom and instead of getting humored or excited, I was getting irritated. There seemed to be a large number of girls who made plans to dance half-naked on the internet that particular day.
“But do these ladies know that social media is their virtual CV?” I blurted. I was neither talking to Eva who was getting her braids done just beside me nor was I talking to Joy who was braiding Eva’s hair but they both turned to look at me and almost at the same time, asked, “What ladies?”
“Here, take a look” I handed my phone over to Eva while Joy craned her neck to see. There was a young lady in bum shorts and a thin tank top, dancing seductively.
Eva smiled and handed the phone back to me.
“It's going to be quite difficult for her to land certain online jobs. Maybe she has another account that she uses for professional content” she said.
I sighed and shook my head. There was no sensible explanation to me.
“Funny enough, I learned that the government has access to our data. That lady may not be able to gain even government-related employment” Joy said, drawing two pairs of eyes to herself.
It was the first time I heard that the government had access to our social media data.
“Why would the government have access to our data, in fact, how!?” Eva asked. I had almost the same question on my lips just before Eva voiced them out. I knew some government officials had access to data like bank accounts and even businesses if they were registered but the internet? I wasn't sure.
“Of course! Don't you think so too, Treasure?”
I shook my head to disagree with her
“Listen, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk own social media. I can agree that they both have access to our data but I don't think they will give it out to the government just like that”
Joy shrugged and continued making Eva’s braids.
“But wouldn't it be amazing?” She began again after a few minutes of silence. “It would be good to know that someone in higher authority has eyes on you, so ladies like the one you showed me will start acting sensibly.”
Eva and I burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“At the same time it has several disadvantages” I replied to her. “If the government has free access to your data, you can be sure that your every move would be monitored. I'm sure you don't want that”
Eva had a sneer on her face.
“Why would the government even have access to my social media? All this talk about having access to your data and all, Joy, which of the government officials will be assigned to watching people's accounts as their jobs?” There was truth in what she was saying but again, anything was possible.
I rose to stretch myself and took a look at Eva’s braids while at it. They came out neatly in their tiny boxes which Joy used to partition the hair for easy access as she plaited it.
“I don't think there's a way to hide your data on the internet though” I said after thinking long and hard
“And I agree,” Joy said, nodding.
“It's possible. You just have to be careful what you're posting and who your friends are”
I shook my head in disagreement again as I went back to take my seat.
“Dear young lady, no matter how careful you are, you've already given your data to Mark. Anyone can have access to it from there. Haven't you heard of scammers?”
“We're talking of the government”
I understood her point but I didn't agree that there was a means to completely secure one's social media. As long as one pair of eyes had access to it, anything could happen.
“The internet is a really broad sphere of communication and these days, your data is recorded by algorithm. What do you watch frequently? Who do you speak to? Who do you follow? That information helps them form data on your personality. So you see, no matter what you do, your data cannot be kept private”
It seemed like she was beginning to see my point because she was nodding slowly, as if in resonance.
“Treasure, why don't you go get your hair washed? I'm almost done with Eva here” Joy said loudly so one of the apprentices could attend to me.
“But if the government can have access to our data, what do you think they would use it for?” Eva called just as I was walking away from them. I shrugged,
“I'm not a government official but let's see…maybe to keep employment for you?”
Everyone in the salon burst out laughing.
I always look at people who are free to always post anything on the internet. Probably they have forgotten that the internet does not always forget
Of a truth, the internet is forever, but so we have to think twice before hitting send.
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Thank you very much
The thing is that, immediately any of our personal data is uploaded on the internet. It is saved and it will take experts to take it down. I mean after deleting it. Meanwhile many of us are not expert in that area. I believe it’s okay for the government to have put data
It's true that once it's out there, it can be tricky to completely remove.
Trusting the government with data protection can indeed provide a sense of security.
Very true.
If the government know how to use the information properly and not use it against it citizens
We all need to think twice before we post anything on the Internet, because it never forgets. But I believe it not bad for the government to have access to our data so far it for security reasons.
Of course, but, there should be strict regulations and transparency in place to ensure the proper handling of our data.
Yes there should.
People actually think they can do whatever they want and get away with it without knowing the repercussion after all is just social media. One of my teacher told a story of how a lady went for a job interview, quite alright she was qualified but was asked to come back
another time unknown to her the company went through her social media handles and because of what they saw she lost her job.
We all need to be careful of the things we post on our social media handles so that it wont backfire latter in the future
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 15/45) Liquid rewards.
Thank you so much @mattsanthonyit
Hi iskawrites I totally agree with you we have to be very careful about what we post on the internet though technological advancements such as blockchain it has become safer nowadays on internet.
It's true that technology has advanced quite a bit, and blockchain is one of those innovations that has made the internet safer. But let's continue to be vigilant and make the most of the internet while keeping ourselves protected!