All of us gush around saying how we like to keep our lives private, we often ignore the fact that our lives aren’t as private as we think they are. Many data experts have revealed that our smartphones record everything. Google Assistant activates even when we just utter the word ‘OK’ instead of ‘OK Google’ and begins recording a ten-second clip, which is then uploaded to the Google cloud. The data for iOS users, too, gets recorded. On numerous occasions, you must have come across an ad on any one of the social media apps about an item you were ‘just talking to your friend about’. It’s not a coincidence, let me tell you that. All the apps to whom you give access to your microphone record the audio which is then used by third party sites to direct their advertisements to your profile. Your recordings are saved with Google, yes but it’s not known what those apps do with the recordings, the ones who have access to your microphone.
With the recent uncovering of the scandal of Cambridge Analytica’s influence in the 2016 US Presidential Elections and a lot of other instances, where data from Facebook was mined to target the audience to achieve certain goals, social media has surely become a leading influencer in our lives. Although it is now very convenient to stay connected with our family, friends, and colleagues from a long distance, we often put them and ourselves at risk by sharing our lives online. It has started to invade our privacy, we so dearly protect. Even a tiny detail can be used for a purpose without our knowledge. To be honest, I am no expert at Psychology but the way this manipulation of our thoughts is carried out by ad agencies and social media apps, it poses a high-risk to our thought process. We are exposed to fake news circulating around and we fail to notice the real ones. We structure our opinions accordingly and start thinking along the lines of such news. I’m not saying that getting influenced is a bad thing but going with what has happened in the recent past, what scares me the most is how quickly the information can be spread on a short notice and the number of people positively responding to them on the go.
As for apps, not granting permission to them after the installation can help you avoid a bigger menace. You do have the option to deny permission granted to the apps installed earlier by going to the settings. To learn more about this issue you can visit this link. Staying online for most of the time affects you mentally. If you choose to stay offline every once in a while, it might assist you to a great length. I’ve tried and tested doing this and that’s why I suggest you do the same. You’ll have more time in your hand to do something productive which eventually will help your mind grow. It depends from person to person what they want to do with their lives. No one can compel you into doing what you don’t wish to do. Just remember to choose what’s better for you.
