How fascinating is it to think about the evolution of the
devices that we use through centuries, but it is more interesting to see the
everydayness overlap in our communities that flex between the mechanical and
electronic gadgets to interact either in-person or online1(Wolske,
2020, Page 54). 30 years ago, new technologies were widely accepted and
immediately adopted by users; our parents probably never hesitated in buying a
beeper, scientific calculator, or probably a brick-like cellphone if their
financial situations allowed them to. No concerns about public data or identity
fraud were raised because they weren’t common whatsoever.
Nowadays, most of the tools that we use every day are part
of the IoT and they are defined as devices that have network connectivity, they
collect user data, process and analyze that data, return it back to the user,
and are connected to an anchored device2 (Rose Barker, 2018, minute
1:40).
Currently, every single IoT device that we acquire seems to
be linked to an app, an app that will require as much private information as it
could to store it on the cloud, such as email, birthday, phone number, address,
etc. It feels that we are obligated and forced to provide data to be “allow” to
use them. It is becoming concerning how easy is to access data not only from
social media but also from simple searches in a browser.
As the IoT new era and as the future generations come to
this realization, we must create awareness of this issue, our private
information shouldn’t be taken easily, and society must support legislations
that protect us as consumers. We know that we need technology to thrive on a
daily basis, but we also need to be protected against fraud and scammers.
The use of technology shouldn’t be a threat to our
integrity, as communities, we need to raise our voices and demand protection
for those in power that demonstrate carelessness about our identities and data.
1 Wolske, M. (2020). Person-centered guide to
demystifying technology: Working together to observe/ question/ design/
prototype/ and implement/reject technology in support of people's valued beings
and doings. Windsor & Downs Press.
2 TEDxTalks.
(2018, April 5). Internet of things: Are smart devices helping or harming? |
Rose Barker | tedxsalem. YouTube. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipdTLJcIkWI&t=570s
Hi Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you with that It feels that we are obligated and forced to provide data to be “allow” to use them and we need to raise our voices and demand protection for those in power that demonstrate carelessness about our identities and data. Thanks for your sharing.