Thanks to the ever-evolving, never stalling IT industry, we are now less than a click away from connecting with the world (sometimes against our will). Although it seems to be the pinnacle of development, as the pointer in 'Technology-a Boon or Bane' debate more-often-than-not slides towards the boon side of the scale; we all would agree on its fast pacing invasion to our privacy.
As much as we like to blame the very creators of various online social interaction tools for compromising our security, we cannot ignore the fact that we are the ones who let the devil in, in the first place. Call it FOMO (fear of missing out), or just social anxiety, we are lured to the captivating picturesque formats of innumerable applications.
The idea of social acceptance packed in little square frames and disappearing graphics has got us all trapped in its vicious cycle.
The need to constantly keep checking on other people's life somewhere has caused a sense of dissatisfaction creeping in all our lives.
Just because we have access to an anonymous account or a number doesn't mean we can invade into someone's personal space. We seem to have gained access to an uninterrupted internet connection (thanks to some generous service providers sweeping the nation with their bewitching schemes) but are yet to learn the etiquette to handle the same. Imagine the plight of a movie star constantly bugged by some random stranger for photos just because she managed to get his number. Or say for instance you called to return a product purchased online and the faceless creep on the other side decides to connect to your personal chat account because he caught hold of your number. Photos can be viewed without someone's permission and spread like a forest fire! These instances may seem minuscule in their magnitude but have proved to devastate lives.
Now terms like monthly data plan, installing apps and instant messaging are not rocket science to crack, but it has taken hundreds of powerful voices and millions of placard-holding posts to make people understand the concepts of 'consent', 'privacy', personal space'; all gone in vain. Unfortunately, the former array of concepts germinate the latter ones and they both are inseparable.
My point is not to caution you about your security but that of others. Just like we learn to install new technologies there is a dire need to educate people on when not to use it. While we cannot wait to switch through tabs we need to hold back a moment and think before we put out anything in this public space. Time, medium, relation are the things which need to be contemplated before connecting to someone so that the result of the conversation is desirable and not the opposite. Next time you upgrade an app, try to upgrade your mind too.
