Nowadays, the collection and application of data by big companies is a well-known fact everybody has to face. This common corporate practice, however, has its pros and cons. On one hand, the usage of data can help to significantly improve the user experience and make operations more efficient, on the other, it presents a danger to personal privacy (Freedman). The complexity of the topic forces one to consider what balance could be achieved between an individual’s rights and their convenience. I will try to give my stance on the issue and explain why I think privacy is a lot more important than one might think.
As concerns me, I am strongly against sharing information with any kind of business, be it for a service that I need or not. In the increasingly interconnected world, it is becoming more and more difficult not to fall prey to questionable business practices and data harvesting. I make it a point to inspect and disable as many data collection features as a can, and often use various means of further protecting my privacy. The use of collected data to cater services to a client feels predatory and unnecessary to me. As such, I think that every individual should critically think about how much of their personal information they give out, and whether the ones taking advantage of it are respectable. I think that there can always be a safer and more secure alternative to popular services that lets me keep a balance between my needs and my beliefs.
Work Cited
Freedman, Max. How and Why Businesses Collect Your Personal Data. Web.