Tag: social media

The Privacy Struggle in the Digital Age

~ Linda Wright

When I was young my mother insisted we have a party line on our phone. It was less expensive. I was trained to only answer the phone if it rang with two short rings. We never knew who picked up when the phone rang in other patterns. If I picked up the phone and heard someone else talking I was instructed to put the phone back on the receiver quickly but gently and never to listen in to what the other people on the line were saying to each other.

Guarding privacy is so much more difficult today than it once was. I can’t tell who is looking at what I post on social media or what they are trying to learn about me. The privacy policy statements that arrive in my email are written in enough legalese that I find them unintelligible. Strangers are able to peek into what I believe, what I desire, and how I vote. What used to be considered spying is now considered a security measure done in the name of safety. Businesses and special interest groups collect data on me in the name of providing me with what I want. Sometimes if I get what I want I get more than I need.

Day 27 (of 31 days of free writing)

Reflections on Blogging

~ Linda Wright

I seem to have attracted a few followers every day since I started this thirty-one days of free writing challenge. Each day I glance at the names of the other bloggers out there who have clicked like on what I posted yesterday. Then I puzzle over what they write. It seems to me that most are picking up on the key words I have added to signify my topic. When I used food as a tag, my piece was noticed by people who write exclusively about recipes. Most of the people who say they “like” my post have only done so once. I see no evidence that I have a true following with the exception of a few personal friends. What I notice is that many of the people who claim to be following my blog in fact have hundreds, if not thousands of followers themselves. This make sense if they are going around and liking posts rather willy-nilly. Maybe it’s like having friends on Facebook and the more you have the better you feel about yourself. Today, day twenty-one, I actually liked someone’s blog back. Call me a snob if you want but I’m just not that easily swayed by popularity clicks.

Day 21 (of 31 days of free writing)