It is certainly no secret that, in our crazy world of technology, nothing is ever private. Nothing. Not your texts, not your voicemails, not your posts, not even your snaps that "disappear" after just ten seconds. Even though it is a major cliche, the internet really is forever, and there really is not a whole lot we can do about it. With all of this said, I believe that internet privacy is possibly one of the most understood things in our modern world. For example, there are people who think that everything on their phones or computers are privileged, and then there are others who believe that nothing is.

Taking all of this into consideration, I also fully admit that I am a little biased. I have watched every crime show series and documentary ever made, including those that are real and those that are not, multiple times, and can quote them for days. While the ones that are make believe are not all that accurate, all you really have to do is watch an episode of any crime show and you'll quickly learn that anybody, can pull up anything done using technology within seconds, and they can even see exactly where you are. This is not just limited to police and authorities, it is also everyday people that are able to get access to your information, including criminals, but just your average everyday people, as well.

With all of this said, I am now going to talk a little bit about my journey with how I protect my privacy while using technology. When I was in high school, I really didn't care at all about privacy, and I really didn't even think anything of it, whatsoever. In all honesty, I don't even remember if any of my accounts were secured or not, including the. ones where it is very easy to get your location I really just posted or sent anything that I wanted, without thinking. Now, I am not saying that this is a bad thing, because I never really posted anything that could have gotten me in trouble or was "wrong," but I certainly wasn't thinking about any of it at all.

Flash forward to the beginning of college and learning a little bit more about all of this, and wanting to protect my privacy and myself, I quickly took posts down, edited all of my friends list, and made everything as private as I possibly could have. In my mind, at the time, I could not have been any more careful...Until I joined Mary Kay at the end of my Sophomore year. I saw everybody else, including top directors have accounts where you could literally find anything about them, and their lives, within a matter of minutes. Nothing was private, at all, and everything was for the whole world to see. It was preached that this was thing to do because it was good for business, showed your authenticity, allowed people to get closer to you easier, and to find you. Being the naive, vulnerable 19 year old that I was, I followed suit and was right back to where I started, if not worse. At this point, I was also banking on my phone and had all of my credit and banking information on my phone, because I was running a business on my phone and laptop. Long story short, I ended up having my bank account hacked, and my identity stolen. I had to get a new passport, social security number information, license, and everything else. While this is an extreme case, I truly did learn my lesson the hard way and now I hardly post anything at all, until at least after the fact, everything is as private as it possibly can be, and I am very careful. I have firewalls, passwords for passwords, and everything else I can possibly do. I also am very, very careful when it comes to who I communicate with and very seldom put anything in writing that I wouldn't say in person.

While it was an awful time, there were a couple very important lessons that in the process, that I would share with any high school senior heading off to college. The first piece of advice that I would give is to never assume anything is privileged and be fully aware of what you are posting, texting, and anything else you are using your phone for--if it is posted or in writing, anybody can access it. My second piece of advice would be to limit cash apps such as Facebook Pay, Venmo, and Square as much as possible. This is how I got hacked, and how many others do as well. My third tip would be to make sure that all of your social media accounts are as private as they can be, and to review your privacy settings often to make sure nothing has changed. My fourth piece of advice is to never say or post anything that you wouldn't want your grandmother, boss, or favorite teacher to see, and to never put anything in writing that you wouldn't say outloud or in person. My fifth piece of advice, as awkward as it may be, is to check in with your friends about their social media accounts and what they are posting. If their accounts aren't private, and they are posting pictures and tagging you in things, you are losing your privacy, too. Lastly, please, just be smart and use your technology safely and responsible. I truly believe that technology is our greatest blessing, but worst curse, and it. can cause major problems if we aren't careful.