The writer Rebekah Rousi is Associate Professor (tenure track) at the University of Vaasa, School of Marketing and Communication and Digital Economy Research Platform.
There is a lot of talk about privacy these days. One may say that the world has grown larger and become more difficult due to the measures we are taking to protect our data. The drivers of privacy and overall cyber security are fascinating to think about.
Firstly, stories of large-scale personal information leaks are hard to ignore when they are extensively covered in the media.
Secondly, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has made Internet use and website browsing unpleasant and disgruntling to the ”flow-seeker” to say the least.
And then thirdly, who can forget that ugly notice on the right-hand screen of your new laptop stating that your ”security software has expired” and that ”you are no longer protected”?
What are we actually worried about?
Protection money, cryptic privacy statements (or ”trade-your-soul for access to this website and its services”), and phones that listen to you on your lunch breaks don’t really sound like the ingredients for an ideal world. And they are certainly not a good prognosis for a utopian digital future.
But, apart from these obvious turn-offs, what is it that we are really concerned about? And who is it that we are really threatened by?
Despite circulating knowledge about the surveillance economy and how big (and smaller) tech is commercially exploiting our data, and perhaps an even deeper-seated fear that one day ”the robots will take over”, there do not seem to be too many individuals used as the face of privacy concerns.
In fact, online and mass media frequently report on consumer discomfort in corporations and other organisations knowing too much about them. One fairly recent article in The Fintech Times reports on how almost half of all consumers fear that their privacy is compromised by their increasingly expanding digital footprint.
Certainly, risk and vulnerability to the theft of assets as well as fraud cause persistent trepidation. And, if you were around during the 1990s for the release of the Sandra Bullock movie The Net, then you might have had second thoughts about engaging in online spaces to begin with.
Identity before privacy
The idea of one’s identity being hijacked certainly isn’t a pretty one. In fact, Wired contributor Lawrence I. Lerner warns us to ”stop worrying about privacy, start worrying about identity”.
Interestingly, rather than ”faking it” through the Net with pseudonyms and avatars, Lerner encourages us to:
- define our values – to live and present ourselves through them;
- be authentic – to avoid turning our voices into a marketing construct;
- practice social listening – to be in tune with the data representing us;
- identify our social network – to choose our company well, as it reflects who we are;
- manage our identity – to not be defensive, just be careful to release thoughtful information; and
- curate our data privacy – to establish game rules for how, what and when we disclose particular information.
The reason for this is that, even if someone or something is callous enough to hijack your identity for your ruin, through your persistence, genuineness and quantity you may survive with adequate proof and witnesses to testify who you are, and who you are not.
Previous experience of victimisation matters
Have you ever been victimised? If not, maybe it is the corporations and robots that might give you the eeries at night. If you have, was it an individual or group? If it was a group you may have several demon-faces in mind. If it was by one, then the demon may be one individual devil.
Studies have shown that females suffer higher rates of victimisation and bullying – physical or cyber. Furthermore, victims of stalking and privacy invasion by partners, friends and acquaintances are unsurprisingly more worried about privacy matters than those who have not been.
No doubt, there is a high likelihood that those who have been personally targeted and victimised will personify their predators more than those who have not been.
Research is ongoing
Our multidisciplinary Academy of Finland project, Emotional Experience of Privacy and Ethics in Everyday Pervasive Systems (BUGGED), explores these questions and more. Just who, what and how people experience the networks of privacy, through their imagination and body, are what we are interested in unravelling.
If you have a story, concern or simply overlapping interests, please do not hesitate to contact me via rebekah.rousi@uwasa.fi. Let’s chat!
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