Privacy Hipsters

The Internet of things and big data oh my, what a revolution. The enhanced knowledge and plethora of information of the everyday average Joe is at incomprehensible heights and the breadth of daily-technology which engulfs us only adds to this. The Internet of things is defined as ‘the pervasive presence of a variety of devices such as sensors, actuators and mobile phones which, through unique addressing schemes, are able to interact and co-operate with each other to reach common goals (Giusto, 2010). The prevalence of wearable technology in particular is a trend which allows for such heightened data collection to exist. Fitbits, Apple Watches, Google Glasses etc etc are literally tracking everything from what we eat to our exercise and more. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was shocked to learn that there is even an option to enter your sexual activity information in real-time on your iPhone app titled ‘Health’. The often unintentional allowance of intrusion into our lives has resulted in uproar and general concern which has unsurprisingly lead to boycotts of these programs or applications which some feel are too close to home. But what are the implications for the ‘unconnected’ and ‘disenfranchised’ going forward?

For those that have decided to rebel against the privacy invaders and cut-off their ties, what is the impact? Can we ever truely disconnect ourselves from the world and its peering eye? It can be spoken about for hours in a variety of ways from an even larger variety of standpoints but I think that the answer is it’s just a fad. Our information has been collected forever one way or another so why do we bother wasting breath, time and energy disputing it? The paranoid reader will rebut with “you’re giving up in the fight, thats what they want you to do, you’re letting them win”. Perhaps, this is true but there is solace in the acceptance of knowing it’s a battle not worth fighting.

I have a friend who I was very close to throughout high-school and our first year of University. It was only until year two at University when he was fortunate enough to secure an internship when he decided to delete all social platforms from his life so he could solely “chase the money and not be disturbed by anything”. As admirably ambitious as it was, I then began to see a demise in his personality and general view towards life which became a toxic, unbecoming facade of disengagement with reality. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, he reminded me of the erratic and disconnected Trevor from this dialogue in Grand Theft Auto 5. Neither myself or anyone else from our social circles have seen him in over a year despite our attempts to reconnect, leading to others harsh comments and a general shut-out of our once great friend. As extreme as this end of the scale may be and how social interaction is indeed an effective distraction, I think its a point worth mentioning. I’m more introverted than extroverted but still love having a yarn with mates over whatever it may be. The argument for social interaction, communication and belongingness or acceptance being a part of human nature isn’t ignorable and needs to be considered prior to the trashing of social avenues altogether amidst the defence against the Internet of things for baseless or outlandish reasons.

The Internet of things and the wonderful technology that is involved with it is certainly a marvel worth savouring and applying to useful projects. As an aspiring marketer, I treat the evident collection of my information to create marketing strategies tailored straight to me as an amazing revelation in the industry. One that outweighs the negative perception adopted by the my consumer side. When it’s all said and done, YOU make the final decision of whether to purchase or not. Just because we may think about having a burger for lunch and then subsequently see an ad on Instagram on our Apple Watch for a Burger does not mean we are obligated to go indulge in one. Actually come to think of it, I could go for one now…