Privacy in New Media

One of the first things you are prompted for when you sign up to create a profile on a social-networking site is your "basic information", i.e. your sex, age, location, school or work info etc. Although most information you give out on these sites is optional, and their are certain settings for guaranteeing that this information is kept private vs. seen by everyone, there is no guarantee that you are indeed protected from people who seek out to gather your information for their own purposes. These people can be anyone from advertisers, with whom the site may have a contract with (think about all those tailored ads that you receive on your FB page) or hackers, or people who simply see your profile as a way of getting your info, which could lead to potential identity theft. But identity theft can not be achieved through the info you put up in your profile alone. Rather your identity is comprised of a few different pieces of information- such as your social security number, name, date of birth etc. While it is highly unlikely that someone can obtain your social security number from FB or Myspace or Twitter, they can obtain your age and sex, or perhaps your parents names or pet name which many use as password reminders and additional security settings in bank account protection; and thus this information is just another piece in the puzzle for completing your full identity. This is why it is so important to monitor what information you give out while using New Media, especially in social networking since there is a high risk of exposing your personal info to strangers. Also, nowadays employers are monitoring social media sites, and what you say (or do and put up online in video) may even cost you your job if it is bad enough (think about the many Mrs. Universe scandals that ultimately cost the contestants their crown). A NY Times article about copyright laws and YouTube raises the question of how new media affects intellectual property. I believe this is more of a legal issue than an issue of privacy, since what is debated is the fair use of such property, and not whether it is kept private or not. The issues that are of utmost concern online is personal privacy, since the internet leaves many of us vulnerable due to the easy accessibility of information through it.