Digital Distress In An Age With Less Privacy
by imei Hsu, RN, LMHC, Artist
Recently, I took part in a conference in Seattle addressing the topics of privacy, identity, and innovation as it relates to the technology affecting our world through the advances of a digital age. At no other time in history have we been more enpowered by technology in multiple formats and with such mobility. I was stunned and in awe to watch the transit of Venus across the face of the sun on June 5,2012 — all from the convenience of my iPad. Yet partly due to the speed in which many software applications are delivered, the people in charge of developing and delivering these systems admit that they do not have all the questions answered, nor the legislation in place to protect the best interests of the consumer. While I initially thought I should share a more information-oriented, clinical description of the affect of privacy issues on psychology and psychological services, I kept asking myself, “What is it that people want to know from me about this topic?” The answer: what is it that I think about privacy and how it affects us? What does any of this have to do with psychology or my well-being? The answer: what you don’t know can hurt you. For now, I’m calling this effect Digital Distress.
Here’s a few things you should know from conversations about Privacy.
1. Consumers are concerned about privacy. It’s not that we know nothing about what it means to have our contact information or images of ourselves violated or exploited. It’s that in general, many of us do not know enough about how to protect ourselves — that is, we are not readily and clearly educated about how to keep our personal data under our control. Terms of Use Agreements (TOUA’s) are often written in legal language that is difficult to interpret, we are subscribed into programs we didn’t select, and many of us do not know how to launch “do not track” programs on our most frequently used Internet browsers.