Throughout the last fifty years, technology has evolved dramatically; with many inventions and updates on products to make our lives better. From the internet and its various protocols, to smartphones, televisions and other devices that use technology in some form or fashion, we cannot live without them. Technology has grown to become a part of our daily lives, and in a sense a part of our family that we bring everywhere we go.
On any given moment, you are bound to find someone using technology. People use things that they don’t even know have some form of technology. Worse yet, people use technology and accept the terms and conditions for using them without even reading them. For the latter, one may say, “why should you read it? You want it so just accept the terms.” This couldn’t be more wrong. Companies today, collect information on its consumers for many reasons that can be questioned, but that is a different topic all for itself.
As you may know, cookies are used on sites when you browse them to store information about what you are doing, which is then sold to third-parties and used to target you in some way. Just the same, these companies have different clauses in their terms and conditions or policies that state what information they collect and what they do with them. If you never read these, you will never know and you could be in for a big surprise. For example, one of the largest known social networking sites, Facebook has an app known as Facebook Messenger. This has had one of the largest controversies last year. Users were saying the app was accessing information on their phone without even alerting you. Could you imagine telling your friend you were thinking about buying the latest Jordan or Nike shoe, then a few minutes later, Facebook started advertising these shoes to you? Wouldn’t you feel crept out? Well, you shouldn’t because you basically allowed them by clicking yes when you downloaded the app.
Another example that is trending now is smart TV’s and their ability to record voices. Buried deep down in different companies’ policies are clauses that they have, basically asking you to allow them to retrieve information from you, and send it to third parties if they wish. Yes, some of this information is sent encrypted to prevent hackers from accessing it, but some aren’t, as shown in an article by an I.T. Consultant Dr. Beet whose link is posted below. These companies tell you straight up what they are going to do, and you accepting technically make it legal.
This brings me to leave some questions with you to ponder on. Why do you think these technological devices are called SMART – phones, SMART – TV’s or SMART – cars? Is the word SMART in front of them used as code for a secret message? Could this message be that they are indeed smart; which they are, but smart in the sense of being able to get information discreetly and to be able to know everything about you? After all, that’s the direction technology is headed and it’s up to you to make the right decisions on what you use, don’t use, and what you allow companies to access. Now look at your smartphone, a device you held closely to you as a best friend, is it a spy? I’m not here to turn you enemies with technology but to make you aware; technology IS using you.
Beet. “LG Disables Smart TV Features in the EU to Force Users to Accept New Oppressive Privacy Policy.”DoctorBeet’s Blog. Blogger, 12 May 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2015. <http://doctorbeet.blogspot.co.uk/>.
Akim,
You have a strong voice, which I like. I also like that I think your specific topic is about user agreements that allow for gathering data about customers from their computing devices. There are though a lot of places where the short gets too broad or loses focus. It makes sense to a degree at the beginning b/c you’re funneling in. Particularly in the end, when you almost shift to a conspiracy theory with the word “SMART” and you offer readers this broad rhetorical question. I think it might have been stronger if you cut your beginning and use this thinking about the smarts of smart phone in the beginning. It does more work as a speculative hook than it does as a concluding food for thought.
But there are places where you stop yourself from getting specific. How is what the companies gather a topic for a different day if what you’re talking about here is how users consent to this entry into to their private sphere of interests?
One thing to caution against when it comes to language is that you have a lot of colloquial sentence formulations. For example: “I’m not trying to turn you enemies” and “tell you straight up.” These are phrasings that work well when you’re talking but not so much in written speech (depending on the type of writing). You might get away with the latter; the reader can think of it as part of the voice of the piece, but the former “turn you enemies” doesn’t work as well once put into written format.