english 102
Objective:
Model synthesis writing
Instructions:
Read the articles between pages 308-310 about social networking privacy threats (notice that each article asks you to access full text online!).
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/04/25/internet-privacy-label-000656/
https://usa.kaspersky.com/blog/voice-recognition-threats/10855/
https://mashable.com/2012/02/06/athletes-social-media-privacy-bill/
After you have read these articles, review the synthesis concept described in Practical Argument on pages 325-327.
Write 2-3 paragraphs in which you synthesize the arguments of any two of the articles referenced above. Your synthesis should add your own original ideas–examples or opinions–to the conversation and also blend in information from the two selected sources. Use identifying tags (or signal phrases) and parenthetical documentation to introduce your sources and to distinguish your own ideas from the ideas expressed by your sources.
Use the synthesis writing template in this weekly folder if you find it helpful.
Please provide a Works Cited page to cite the two articles you write about in this assignment.
Your 2-3 paragraphs should be 350-500 words long.
Tip: For more information about identifying tags (or signal phrases), please revisit pages 322-323 in Practical Argument.
Note: This is your opportunity to practice synthesis writing.
ANSWER
Social Networking Privacy
Social media has indeed taken too much of the current generation’s time. People spend countless hours on Facebook and Twitter not knowing how the service providers benefit from their time on their platforms. Few people have limits when it comes to social media usage; whether employed or unemployed, one would always find the time and data to spend at least two or three hours on Facebook. But why would one give you a free platform to do anything you want when he doesn’t gain from it? Who are the real customers of Facebook? Do Facebook even care about the privacy and safety of its users? Apparently there are bigger companies who benefit and pay Facebook when their products are advertised or aired in the Facebook platforms. Privacy is a key factor when it comes to using social media platforms. The immediate consumer needs to be educated on how their data and personal information are stored and shared with Facebook. Personal information protection is a role that must be well played by the service provider. Several cases of security lapses have been reported in the past, customer privacy breach has been rampant from various agencies (Obar, Jonathan and Anne 2020).
Social media platforms should always be kept as private as possible, personal information sharing with the employer or institution should be prohibited. Sharing of personal information such as logins and passwords with various personnel might lead to infringement of privacy regulations. I openly think that social media life is significantly different from a person’s real life outside social media. Many people use social media as a platform to socialize and pass time while having fun with ‘stranger friends’. Monitoring of a person’s social media account might give you a wrong idea about someone; some people prefer to keep two different lives and so one can’t judge or tell a person’s character from monitoring his/her social media account. Institutions should thus be prohibited from demanding access to their student’s social media accounts, this might seem like requesting access to someone’s house in their absence. Student’s need to have control over their lives without feeling like being watched or monitored by someone else and this applies even to employees and any other person who uses social media. Assurance of security over personal information and data is very vital to social media users.
Platforms like Twitter and Facebook should be able to assure their users the protection of their credentials and prohibition of sharing of any personal information without their knowledge. Breaching of privacy policies by various agencies and online service providers by sharing it with a third party for individual gains should be charged in a court of law. Sharing of personal information should be a mutual agreement between the consumer and the service provider and should never be done without consulting the consumer. Cases have been reported in the past of various agencies breaching the privacy rules and sharing personal information with third parties, clear and satisfactory user agreement policies must be provided and followed to the latter. Bart Lazar advises on a short-form disclosure to consumers, thereby enhancing their education without necessarily restricting internet companies. Provision of important information to consumers in a clear and modest form will enable them make informed decisions and choices on how different online agencies and companies use their personal information. The primary concern of a consumer is how the service provider uses his personal information; whether they sell and offer it to other agencies or individuals for self-interests. Online service providers and social media platforms should earn their consumers’ trust by ensuring protection of their data.
Works Cited
Obar, Jonathan A., and Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch. “The biggest lie on the internet: Ignoring the privacy policies and terms of service policies of social networking services.” Information, Communication & Society 23.1 (2020): 128-147.
