The amount of information we provide and receive from the internet allows our society to run in a virtual world. Almost anything can be done online or through the internet, which is convenient to almost all people. We are given the opportunity to personalize our browsers and accounts by including information like our birth date, e-mail and telephone number, our address and the background we come from; most website even allow us to keep our credit/debit card information saved. How much is too much? In the article “Privacy-Enhanced Personalization” we are provided with statistics and regulations we follow when personalizing our favorite sites.
Privacy-enhanced personalization is a field to find the balance between users striving for the best possible personalization within the boundaries set by privacy (Kobsa 26). Everyone has the right to their own preferences, or as the article explains, individual privacy attitudes. There are privacy fundamentalists who feel an extreme concern about disclosing information to websites. Next there are the privacy unconcerned, who express a mild concern about who might receive their information. Finally, there are privacy pragmatists who are generally concerned, but are more willing to disclose personal information when they actually understand reasons or benefits from sharing.
I would consider myself part of the privacy pragmatist group because I usually have trust in the websites I use. Although I should be more cautious when sharing my debit card information, I find it easier to have the numbers already programmed in. To my convenience, most of my most frequently used websites are personalized. “Recent surveys indicate the about 80% of Internet users are interested in personalization” (Kobsa 27). Imagine all the personal information that many websites have access to. I think another reason that websites allow their users to personalize with their information is to accumulate more time spent on that website.
The risk of allowing information on the internet varies. We should all be more cautious of where we enter in our information and individually determine the importance of that piece of your identity. Do you think that the risk of being hacked, having your identity stolen, or other chances of insecurity is worth the convenience of saving a few extra minutes?
Alan, I really enjoyed this post as well! The convenience is a huge factor. Personally, I do love having some information already saved on my computer. It makes it easier when applying for filling out things, but I have felt more sketchy dealing with my credit card. The fact that it can be saved on a website makes me think that anyone can access it. I try to be careful, but many websites now will save stuff automatically (at least it does with my mac.)
ReplyDeleteYour comment about the time spent on website with personalization is interesting. I had never thought about it like that, but it seems very true. We will spend more time on a site that is molded to us, it keeps our attention longer!
We definitely need to be more concerned with how much personal information we put out there. I enjoyed your question because you phrased it in a way that I had not thought of by including this idea of convenience. No matter how convenient a website may seem, or how easy it would be to trust it in order to save information or get something that we want immediately, it is always better to wait and make sure the site is safe. I also hate looking up certain passwords or important credit card information, so it seems easier to keep it available so I won't have to bother with it. I definitely need to be more careful though.
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ReplyDeleteI think you raise some great points in your article with how people have to decide how much information is too much. For me personally, i like to think that i trust most of the websites i use too but still try and give them the least amount of personal information as possible. The couple extra minutes that the automatic fill might save you is nothing compared to the time that could be wasted if your identity is stolen.
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