reading report #5

                In summary, the article “The End of Privacy?,” addresses the technological era we are in and how it significantly influences privacy. It begins by describing the story of “the Star Wars kid.” An embarrassing video was posted of him on the internet from his fellow peers.  This video quickly circulated and became global. Ultimately, he dropped out of school and had to receive counseling because of the negative effects this had on him. With the internet-age that we are in, this could happen to anyone. The author, Daniel J. Solove, explains the gap between the younger and older generations due to the increase in social-networking websites. Specifically, he refers to the younger generations as “Generation Google.” Gossip and rumors are now spread via these websites. In addition, companies and the government can collect and use information off of nearly every website used on the internet. The issue of personal information being disseminated over websites influences people’s reputations as well. This can hurt many people in the long run. Some feel that any form of privacy is completely dead. Solove argues that this is not true. He believes the current definition of privacy is outdated and needs to be updated to be able to understand that privacy is still out there. The old conception of privacy has to be altered to include the new generations’ views on privacy. Lastly, he touches on the fact that some laws should be modernized in order to stay up to date.

                I definitely agree completely with this entire article. The conception of privacy is different for older and younger generations. Therefore, they may view things differently. However, it is relatively sad and scary what this does lead to. The gossip and rumors that are spread via social-networking websites are completely unnecessary, but there is no way to control this. Ultimately, one can only completely control their own actions on these websites. I can definitely see how people’s reputations could be ruined and have a major impact through the social-networking sites, especially since employers are looking more towards them when hiring. There are some ways that laws could be altered to encompass the broader definition that “Generation Google” has in regards to privacy. This article was extremely interesting to read and to think about in further depth.