Analysis of Privacy in the Information Age :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Privacy in the entropy Age This is the selective information Age, the age of gathering information. People are introduced to all types of information from target and broadcast media, and they themselves are the object of information gather ined on an change magnitude scale. Computers attain be come so entrenched in peoples lives that they nurse come to take computers for granted, and usually stop to complain on cause when these machines fail them. Computers collect our paychecks, pay our bills, dispense our cash, send our orders, and save our information. dapple computers may only contain bits and pieces of our own(prenominal) information, collectively computers know us better than many a(prenominal) of our friends and relatives. The use of the information highway by marketing firms, law enforcement agencies, the me dia, financial and educational institutions to collect and compile personal information is making may consumer advocates and privacy experts u neasy. However, many Americans, even though touch about privacy invasions, simply accept the loss of their p rivacy as a consequency of the Information Age and are not willing to submit up the benefits and conveniences which information technology has provided them (Long 19). British novelist, George Orwell, may have been accurate in his novel, 1984, envisioning a future where citizens are ever monitored, but he never imagined how or to what degree this would be done. Today, a citizens personal informatio n is everywhere processed, manipulated, stored, and sold. In the last 10 years, data collection has escalated (Mossberg B1). There is nothing that doesnt create a pool of data that can be used in creative ways. Computers can collect personal data t o find patterns that reveal a citizens habits, preferences, and personality. What is particularly surprising is the extent in current years to which this personal data about citizens can be obtained and made available to many interested parties. The is sue, therefore, affects everyone. Privacy and the consumer, privacy and the workplace, and privacy and medical records in the Information Age are all issues of privacy that people must care for with today. In the 1990s, the Internet has virtually changed the lifestyle of the consumer. One-to-one marketing and publicize has become very popular on the Internet, and the personal service it gives a consumer can save him time and effort.