Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2002-05-07 01:27 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2002-05-07 01:27 pm
Privacy in the digital age
Thought assignment for English class: What is privacy?
Interesting that I'm writing my deepest thoughts on privacy smack in the middle of an online journal that could be accessed by everyone and his little brother's boyfriend, but hey, that's how I conduct my mental life.
Privacy, to me, is the concept that portions of my life that I do not wish to be public knowledge, remain private. What is private? Knowledge restricted to myself and others that I designate as being able to know such information.
What sort of things do I wish to be private? Not very many things. I don't wish Joe Random to automatically know my personal name upon stumbling upon my online journal. I don't wish Jane Clueful who is acquainted with me online to be able to accurately tag the personal identities of people I mention in my journal. That's a function of privacy that it falls upon me to uphold.
I don't wish randoms online to know my last name. First and second names I use freely and happily; they're just not quite my online persona. Last name is reserved, even in personal use, for certain legal functions like school, banking, taxes. I don't use that name, personally. It's the clan name, and I doubt I'll ever drop it for that reason, but it's not something that really I feel the need for day to day. I keep that private.
Many of the things that get put in my journal would be a matter of public record were the public at school hanging out, or even at my house chilling. The things that get put in with restricted entries are certain private thoughts and motivations, certain operations of my religion, certain financially-linked data, things that other people would prefer remain out of the public eye.
To me, privacy is the ability to secure a space from the public eye, whether it be an online space, home, outdoors. The ability to keep thoughts to self. The ability to keep personal information out of the hands of people who would use it to do harm or annoy.
Interesting that I'm writing my deepest thoughts on privacy smack in the middle of an online journal that could be accessed by everyone and his little brother's boyfriend, but hey, that's how I conduct my mental life.
Privacy, to me, is the concept that portions of my life that I do not wish to be public knowledge, remain private. What is private? Knowledge restricted to myself and others that I designate as being able to know such information.
What sort of things do I wish to be private? Not very many things. I don't wish Joe Random to automatically know my personal name upon stumbling upon my online journal. I don't wish Jane Clueful who is acquainted with me online to be able to accurately tag the personal identities of people I mention in my journal. That's a function of privacy that it falls upon me to uphold.
I don't wish randoms online to know my last name. First and second names I use freely and happily; they're just not quite my online persona. Last name is reserved, even in personal use, for certain legal functions like school, banking, taxes. I don't use that name, personally. It's the clan name, and I doubt I'll ever drop it for that reason, but it's not something that really I feel the need for day to day. I keep that private.
Many of the things that get put in my journal would be a matter of public record were the public at school hanging out, or even at my house chilling. The things that get put in with restricted entries are certain private thoughts and motivations, certain operations of my religion, certain financially-linked data, things that other people would prefer remain out of the public eye.
To me, privacy is the ability to secure a space from the public eye, whether it be an online space, home, outdoors. The ability to keep thoughts to self. The ability to keep personal information out of the hands of people who would use it to do harm or annoy.