Privacy in Todays Digital Age

 As a young woman who has grown up with technology throughout my life, the idea of a “digital footprint” of myself on the internet is abundantly so clear. Right when I entered High School the number one thing people always said was “Watch what you put on the internet because it will always find a way to catch up.” Not that I have ever been in a situation where my past has led up to my future, but I have seen it happen to so many people around me. 

Everything and anything you post, say, repost, send a picture that’s saved to chat. Anything you do on your phone can be traced back to you. You can never just delete a post or retweet something because there was at least one person who had seen it before it was taken away. I used to have an Instagram when I was in middle school, and none of these photos are of bad things, but just because I can’t log into this account and haven’t been able to for years doesn’t mean it’s gone. So Sometimes my friends would go on it and make jokes about the little stupid things I posted. This is a harmless example, but people have experienced way worse.

In the Ted Talk "Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo," Juan Enriquez discusses the comparison of digital footprint to your own tattoo. I have a tattoo that has a very personal meaning to my past, which can tell you a lot about myself. I also know that if you search my name on Google, my LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok will all show up. My tattoo on my body can tell you a story, but these three platforms tell you way more about my identity, such as my email, the town I live in, and my family members, all there just on the internet for anyone to access. These are three websites that, even if I delete something, will always be on the internet. This can be scary, especially as a college student looking for internships and job opportunities; I must be aware and smart about what I put online because anyone can find out anything about me with a quick search.

Catherine Crump goes on to talk about how the police departments are using license plates to track every vehicle and where they are going. Police officers are using these scanners to track where pedestrians are and their day-to-day lives. They have each car with multiple scans of their license plates, time stamps, and location. Their logic for holding onto all this private information is for the “future.” The small chance this person might be a criminal they keep tabs on everyone and have a file with numerous photos just to know your day-to-day life. I understand that you have to be able to track cars when it comes to stolen vehicles or criminals, but people are trying to live their lives in peace instead the government is monitoring everyone and every move they make, taking away every privacy right we have ever fought for. There should be rules in place, that make it so local police officers must delete that data once doing a background check. It is not fair to the citizens to have to be scared of police officers, those who are supposed to protect us, but now tracking us.

Technology has taken away all privacy rights, when we click the button “accept” to the terms and conditions we hand our identity away to these companies. Growing up with technology I never even thought about it, and the impact it can have if given to the wrong hands. We shouldn’t be scared to post an exciting moment online or to drive to a friend’s house. There is nothing we can now do without it being public knowledge. 

Netflix

Netflix was the start of online renting for movies. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997. Renting movies in the 1900s was having to go to a record store and buying a movie to rent but you only had a certain amount of days with it and if you exceeded this, you were charged a late fee. Reed and Marc wanted to discover a way for people to rent movies for as long as needed without a late fee. They discovered DVDs were a new hot invention in Japan and knew that was their ticket into a successful business. 

History:
Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph worked together at Pure Atria a Software Company. Their company was doing a merge with another firm leading to them both losing their jobs. Marc and Reed would drive to work together discussing random business ideas, but Marc then remembered that DVDs had just arrived in Japan. In 1997 Marc and Reed went to Books & Reeds Record and bought a CDC, in which they shipped to Reed’s house. When it arrived unbroken they knew they had come up with the best business idea. 
August 29th, 1997 Netflix was up and registered using at least $1.9 Million from Reed. From 1997-1999 Netflix packed DVDs in envelopes and sent them to each customer, it was first a per-pay rental, which was .50 cents plus postage and late fee. In 1998 Netflix launched their first website, which allowed you to list the movies you wanted to rent, and each time you sent on back, you would receive your next movie. At this time Netflix rented out 900 titles, and within the first 15 minutes of the website launch, it crashed, leading them to run to the store and buy more services. By the end of the day, there were 137 orders.1999 Netflix opened their monthly subscription for around $15 monthly, for limited rentals with no late fees or other dues. Netflix gained 239,000 subscribers and expanded to 3,100 titles. In the early 2000s, there were complaints of DVDs taking too long to arrive which led to Netflix opening regional warehouses for overnight shipping. 
In 2007 Netflix began streaming directly to TVs and computers through a “watch now” service, this lowered the cost of a physical DVD subscription to $5.99 a month and an online subscription to maintain the same at about $15. In 2013 Netflix started its own original shows, the first show was Lilyhammer followed by House Of Cards. Netflix has only grown substantially in the last 20 years with more than 209 Million subscribers in over 190 countries. 

Impact: 
Netflix has completely changed the way people watch TV and movies, not just how we watch them but the inclusion of these shows/movies as well. There is not one person in this world that doesn’t know what Netflix is, subscribers increase around 10% each year. This is due to the reasonable pricing for a monthly subscription with no abs or other fees. Not only is it a reasonable price but you are also able to share the password with multiple people. Netflix wanted to change the way people viewed shows and movies, and how we could rent them out. They wanted people or families to have accessibility to movie night, and not make someone feel rushed to make sure the caseet tape, CDC, or even DVD is in on time. Not just fees but also where to watch
it, they expanded their site so it was easier for you to watch the things you were interested in, at your time and location. 
Not only did they change the way we watch shows and movies, but also the impact on how these movies may change our perspective on the world. “The Netflix Effect” is a phenomenon that Netflix series can influence our real life. Whether this is fashion, educational, or even a mindset on an idea. “The Netflix Effect”  also relates to the overnight fame of people just being on a show or a movie. For example, in all reality TV shows, people go into these shows not being famous or only maybe a few thousand people knowing their name, to then millions of people knowing personal information and millions of followers. Netflix fame is like no other and can completely change someone’s life. 

Netflix has had a huge impact on how people now binge movies or TV series. Although there are so many website look-alikes such as HULU, Disney +, and HBO Max, Netflix doesn’t have a popular name like them. They built from the ground up gaining the trust and loyalty of their subscribers. 

Eight Values of Free Expression

 Media, Literacy, and Law have given me a lot of insight into the significance of the First Amendment, especially through the lens of the Eight Values of Free Expression. The First Amendment was written by James Madison in 1791, which protects the people to say, write, and protest their beliefs. This is easily the most important Constitutional right we have because without this we would all have to believe and act on the same things. Each of the eight values holds an individual meaning to the First Amendment and the Freedom of Expression. 

Marketplace of Ideas

John Milton created this value, which suggested all ideas and opinions should be revealed, even the ones that are false because the truth will always win. More specifically, sharing both the truth and falsehood would always cause the 'truth will win'. I think this is really important, especially in this day of age because social media is the number one source of news. This leads to so many individuals famous or not posting many different things, whether it is celebrity drama or politics. Not only is there social media but also schools, I am surrounded by college students of all different ages and backgrounds, which means a lot of different opinions or views on things. Whether I believe it’s true or not on a specific topic, I still think it is really important for everyone to be able to discuss their opinions. This can also lead to opportunities to expand your knowledge and beliefs. The First Amendment obviously protects our right to freedom of speech, religion, and press, but John Milton's suggestions say the truth and falsehood need to be shared and expressed to further the truth. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment

C. Edwin Baker introduced the idea of Individual Self-Fulfillment, aka Self-Actualization which suggests that each person should be able to express themselves in their own creative ways. So not only do we have freedom of expressing our words and beliefs but ourselves. As stated above I am a college student, which means I am still figuring out who I am, and what I want to do with my future, this leads to so many different character develops and maturity on how I act and maybe even what I wear. I know that my aesthetic has changed so many times in just the past 5 years. Even looking back 2 decades fashion has changed tremendously and some has come back in the past years. Self-actualization goes as far back to Psychology and how our brain develops over time. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, this is where we reach our full potential of who we can be and what we want to make ourselves.  Especially in America, we are such a diverse country that seeing different cultures dress can be very educational, and for me beautiful. You're not always expressing yourself but also your culture. I know now that nowadays a lot of people like to express their identity or personality through the way they dress, which can be very important to how someone feels.

    All Eight Values of Free Expression bring out small details in the First Amendment. These are only two out of the eight values, and it is really important to recognize how they all work together to allow this society to be as free as possible. Being able to have this much freedom with our words, beliefs, and actions

is truly a blessing. 

The Supreme Court

     Watching the Supreme Court videos gave me a lot of perspective on the true role the Supreme Court justices have in this country. I always knew the basis of what they did, from history classes, they get thousands of cases and have to decide which ones really impact the question of the U.S. Constitution or are worthy of making a nationwide law. Finishing the videos this insight widened, the number of cases they received weekly was jaw dropped, and how they had to come to a decision on which ones were worth taking is a lot of time and dedication. The Supreme Court is the highest federal court the United States has, which was built from the U.S. Constitution, furthering the importance of each justice’s role. When taking on a case they are putting the United States rights, laws, and future in their hands. 

  

  Furthermore, the most significant takeaway about the Supreme Court is how all the justices come to a decision on which cases they take and if they do take it the time and dedication they have to make that final verdict. Something that opened my eyes was the statement, “Whether it's filed by high-priced legal counsel or whether it's written by some prisoner sitting in jail someplace, in his own hand, gets the same individual consideration” The Supreme Court, gets roughly 100 cases to look over a month whereas they only take 100 cases a year. The Supreme Court doesn’t just look at the problem of the case, or see where it’s coming from and throw it to the side, but they take the time to look through every small or big case that ends up on their desks and see if it truly meets the needs of the Supreme Court. Not only do they take time to pick cases but the amount of time they spend on ruling the final verdict on a case. As said before the Supreme Court is the foundation for making decisions for the future of our nation, which holds a lot of trust and dedication to their decisions. 

    One of the most surprising things I learned from the videos was how many cases they really take in one year. Like stated above they receive about 100 cases a month, but only take about 100 cases a year. When they get a case, each lawyer has 30 minutes to plead this case, and the Supreme Court justices take this time to ask clarifying questions and get to the bottom of the case. This can get a little hectic because each Justice has a different opinion or even a different approach to what they want to ask. This time is given to the public, but then after 30 minutes, the justices go into a private room where no one is welcome except for the justices, and they come to a conclusion. This leads to one of the justices on the majority side having to write an opinion on why the decision was made. This part takes the longest, due to the fact it can lead to all other courts’ decisions on how to proceed with the case. I also found it surprising that a justice who wasn’t on the majority side of a case could also write his or her opinion on why he disagreed with the vote. The time it takes for a first draft of the opinion is about 4 weeks. How the Supreme Court takes the time to go through every case with efficiency and equality will always amaze me. 
 

   After watching these two videos, I have gained so much insight and respect for the Supreme Court, they truly don’t teach you the facts about what the Supreme Court does and how much time it takes to make sure the nation’s laws and future are in perfect condition. Each member goes through a remarkable process to get the title and honor of being a Supreme Court Justice, but I think it is equally important for the United States people to truly understand what they do and how they treat everyone with equality, even if you don’t like the outcome of the case. It is a true commitment and responsibility to work for the nation’s future. 

Top 5 News Sources

In today’s day of age, the news isn’t just from a local vendor on the side of the road selling a 20-cent newspaper or a young man riding his bike past your house throwing the mail in your driveway.  Instead, you now have thousands of news sites on the internet, which can make it very difficult to figure out which ones are reliable or not. I use social media the most to gather my information/news, but if it is something important like political or local news I will always fact-check it with a quick Google search. 

TikTok has now become the most used social media platform in the world, ranging from ages 10 years old to 80 years old. It first came out as a platform where people would make short dancing videos, and collect followers to also do their dancing trends, but it quickly changed in 2018 when “Musically” became “TikTok.” It is now used as an influence platform for millions of people to go on and watch make-up artists, fitness instructors, lawyers, dermatologists, you name it and they have it. If anything in the world happens, someone will upload it on TikTok for millions to see. I know personally, that if something happens I will see it on TikTok first, and then do a quick Google search to make sure it is real. 

Instagram is the Facebook for the younger generation. It is where you follow your friends and people who inspire you, and comment and like each other's posts. Whether the post is a “quick trip” or showing something you just got. In the past few years, Instagram has now added “reels” that resemble TikTok and have way more News platforms. Similar to TikTok there are “For you” feeds where it could be meal ideas, outfit inspo, or what we have seen more this year, Political opinions. The thing about Instagram is you see news way faster due to people reposting it on their stories. For instance, when Trump got shot, I think almost half of my following, reposted the picture on their Instagram stories, spreading the news. Just like all other Social Media platforms, you must do a fact-check before believing everything you see on the internet. 

Wikipedia is the fastest and easiest way to find information quickly. When looking up anything for school, whether it is for history, science, or even an art definition, Wikipedia is always the first Website to show up. In middle school, teachers always used to say that Wikipedia was filled with false information, which is actually a big misconception. Yes, you should use it with caution just like all news sources but Wikipedia is a great news platform for finding out a quick fact or definition. 

The New York Times is the only “real” News platform I use. It has all the reliable information whether that’s Political, Celebrity Drama, World crisis, or even trending clothes, New York City is the City that “never sleeps” making the reporters always on the clock, never missing a piece of information that should be told to the world. I also like that the New York Times has different types of News styles, whether it’s an article, a summary, or a journal, you can read things you're interested in, in a way you enjoy reading. I know I can’t sit and read a 5-page article, so something I just look for is their short summaries. 

The last platform I am gonna talk about is pretty popular amongst everyone and that is word of mouth. I know personally I learn a lot of information when I am just sitting in a big group with all my friends and we just start talking away. I will learn so much that is going on in the world whether it’s a sports game, maybe a history fact, or even as stupid as a new word. I’m not a big on my phone person, so I don’t see a lot of what’s going on, so when I’m with my friends they tell me a lot about what is happening or what did happen.