Blog Post #3

For this week’s blog post, I decided to discuss the idea of sharing data with one another through internet based platforms. I am specifically going to be focussing on Facebook and it’s lack of privacy. Facebook allows you to share articles, and post with your friends, family, and even publicly depending on the settings. This information is than used to create advertisements that are targeted to our specific preferences. This information is than used to create custom advertisements for their intended audience, for example if you search for couches you may later see an assortment of advertisements for other couches. This is because Facebook stores all of our information in a database.
Facebook implies that their relationship between advertisers is considered sharing (John 66). The word “sharing” I feel like is used to make it seem like they are not doing anything wrong and that they are not stealing our information. By sharing our information on Facebook we are being taken advantage of for profit, rather than just the consumers that we think we are. The text states “ the more we share online, the richer the online platforms we are sharing on become ( John 67).  We continue to use these social media sites to share our information even though they are exploiting to earn profits. In the end, it really makes you question if our entertainment online is worth the lack of privacy it entails.
Do you feel safe sharing your information on social media sites? Do you feel as if you have enough privacy online?

John, Nicholas A. The Age of Sharing. Polity, 2017.

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