In the article “The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks”, Emm (2014) talks about the ever increasing danger of using the internet. The author writes about how recent news of authorities and large corporations spying on citizens have surfaced. This problem is further exacerbated since the internet is increasingly being used in many areas of our lives, from communication to monetary transactions. Emm highlights the importance of being careful about what information is made accessible to others online as it may reach unintended audiences with malicious motives. Such seemingly harmless information when pieced together or interpreted by the right person can inadvertently reveal a trove of information about a person. Emm states that these attackers are able to target any device able to connect to the internet, and people are complacent when it comes to protecting their handphones due to attacks being rare. People thus need to act with caution to protect themselves these dangers.
The dangers of the online world shared by the author seem to be exaggerated to gain online readership. Although what he presents in his blogpost is factually true, he scares the readers into believing that they are at risk more than they actually are by introducing out of the ordinary situations as commonplace.
One idea given by Emm is regarding the government collecting data from its citizens. Emm writes about how “many feel uncomfortable” about this collection of information. However, for many ordinary citizens who go about their daily lives, the government monitoring their online activities should not be alarming since there is nothing to hide. As long as the government uses these information gathered in a respectable manner, there is no reason to be worried. After all, this data is used to combat crimes and keep citizens safe. Emm misses the point that some of these information collected under the guise of security purposes, are sometimes used to support the government agenda by blackmailing and spying on dissidents. However, such incidences are believed to be extremely rare and used on a very few vocal people, thus this should not worry the majority.
In his blogpost, Emm writes about the risks of posting information on one’s life online lest someone unintended abuses the information for industrial benefit. Emm is right about how many have access to information which is sensitive and has to be protected. However, he does not establish well the link between posting information on ones personal life and the compromise of sensitive information. The example given by him to explain this point is extremely unlikely to happen, and has been carefully chosen to boost his argument. Indeed it is true that information a person makes public online poses a possible threat to him, but this is heavily dramatized in the article. Emm’s example is inaccurate to the reality of the situation, and is perhaps written for the entertainment of the reader.
Emm then moves on to the social aspect, discussing the consequence of oversharing by using the example of a boss reading an employee's facebook page. Emm again provides his readers with a scenario that applies to a select few. To the minority population who enjoy such lives of late night parties and partake in questionable content, surely even fewer are foolish enough to make such information available to their colleagues and bosses via social media lest they come under scrutiny. This example is nevertheless able to capture the imagination of the reader by providing great entertainment but perhaps little practical use.
Emm's article is dramatized perhaps to provide a getaway to peoples mundane lives, citing examples which are relevant to a small minority but capture the imagination of many. There is however some truth in what Emm is trying to convey. It is true that computers are being targeted and infected with viruses at a rampant rate. However, the most malicious of viruses are usually to steal bank details, credit card numbers, or to create illegal botnets. These are a real threat to the population and their computers, and thus keeping ones computer protected and avoiding shady sites and dubious links are usually more than sufficient in keeping the average man safe.
Emm, D. (2014, March 21). The Perils of Over-sharing in Social Networks [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-emm/the-perils-of-over-sharing-in-social-networks_b_5005276.html
