By now, I am sure you are aware of the immense wealth of personal information that is available for everyone in the electronic world to see. The depth of your electronic footprint, coupled with efforts from the National Security Agency (NSA) to obtain a greater wealth of this personal metadata, has already evoked much fear and paranoia in the American people. However, despite this fear, we will still continue to call and text regularly, buy cologne on Groupon, and freeze for a few moments to make ugly kissy faces when taking a Snapchat.
Now you might think, “Well, if I’m not doing anything wrong, then I should be good. Right?” The reason why you might say this is because when you take a minute to conceptualize the sheer volume of available information, you might think that this information is static and unused. Thus, simply because this information is there does not necessarily mean that it is actively used or intently analyzed. If this was true, then my response would be the same as yours: I have nothing to hide; middle finger to the establishment. However, there is shocking evidence indicating that the stuff people know about us is much more used than we think. In fact, not only are some people purposefully observing you on a day-to-day basis, but their job is solely based on the degree to which they can catch and document you slipping up.
In the year 2002, 10% of Harvard University’s $30 billion+ endowment came from alumni that worked in the NSA. It took about a year for the NSA to have a stronger presence within the Crimson community, in the form of pamphlets around campus, tabling at the career fairs, and the sort. In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg founded “The Facebook,” with investments managed by his partner Eduardo Saverin. In The Social Network, a movie based on the creation of Facebook, we see how Saverin is constantly looking for funds in order to meet the growing demand of the Facebook site. Shockingly, research indicates that one of Saverin’s most contacted agencies (and Facebook’s primary investor) was, in fact, the National Security Agency. In 2011, the NSA demanded access from each major phone company in the United States under the guise of “national security purposes.” Similarly, it was not until 2011 that Facebook added the highly suggested option to “Check In” and let the world know where you are at all times.
If you take a step back and look at these details, there is a very clear trend in all of this: the NSA is getting closer and closer to your doorstep. The government has created and maintained social media sites in order to monitor your every step and keep widespread control.
If you still don’t believe all of this then, quite frankly, I don’t blame you. This information is tough to soak in and has many frightening implications. Do you know what information is not tough to soak in, though? Information about YOU.
I truly hope you are skeptical about this entire anecdote, because it is entirely fabricated and false. Again, I repeat: all of what you just read was bullshit. However, I also hope that you apply that same critical thought to the information that people of authority deem to be true, solid, and just. Simply because an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory is an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory does not mean that that there is not some hidden truth. Furthermore, it is not the information that we claim to be true that determines our judgement: it is who we choose to believe.
