In the age of hyperconnectivity, people have access to a sea of information with the click of a mouse. While the internet has radically changed how information is disseminated, it has also made it increasingly difficult to protect one’s privacy. The internet has become the backbone of the world’s infrastructure, which has caused many people to question its safety.
“In the mad rush to achieve hyperconnectivity, people have forgotten that living a life of sanity and security requires firewalls between various areas of your life. You don’t want your mobile phone monitoring everything you say at a weekend party, and you don’t want your private, personal life shared with everybody at your place of work. ‘Connectivity’ is pushed as a panacea, but it’s actually a curse,” explained Mike Adams, Editor-in-Chief of Natural News.
Hyperconnectivity literally means too much information. The statistics speak for themselves: Approximately 300 hours worth of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute; an estimated 81 percent of companies are planning to have machine-to-machine initiatives; and by 2020, the number of smartphones, tablets and PCs in use is expected to reach 7.3 billion. The world is engaged in a very loud, ongoing conversation, most of which is absolute garbage.(1, 2)
Corrodes cognitive abilities
The internet is paraded as a great way to conduct research. Unfortunately, the internet is a greater source for distraction too. Facebook and Twitter are constant temptations, which cause students to procrastinate from their school work and, in turn, become less productive.
In some ways, hyperconnectivity actually corrodes human thinking. Rather than follow a single line of thought to its logical ends, people consume discontinued snippets of information by the spoonful. In the same way that the stomach is not designed to digest an excess of calories, the brain is not designed to digest an excessive amount of information. By shoveling chunks of information down their throats, hyperconnectivity thwarts people from comprehending what they are consuming.
Infringement of privacy
Hyperconnectivity is dangerous not just to human thinking but to privacy as well. The Fourth Amendment is under fire in an age of electronic surveillance and big government. The Email Privacy Act is currently marching towards bipartisan agreement. The legislation would grant state agencies the right to issue judgeless subpoenas in an effort to seize private information stored on electronic devices. The government may not be searching your home, but they are searching your email account.(3)
Most computers are already infected with intrusive spyware. Over 14 million devices have downloaded Window’s Microsoft 10 since it was first released in late July. The privacy settings in the operating system are designed to be intrusive by default. Windows tracks everything you do, and saves private data like names, credit card information and passwords. The tech giant reserves the right to provide that information to unidentified third parties and law enforcement agencies.(4)
Increased risk of social collapse
Hackers are the biggest threat in the age of hyperconnectivity. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2012 – Seventh Edition report, lists cyber attacks as one of the “Top 5 Global Risks in Terms of Likelihood.” In fact, a case could be made that World War III will be waged on the internet rather than on land. Developed countries run over the internet; it is the backbone of their infrastructure, from banking to traffic control. By waging war on the infrastructure of a nation, society would collapse within days.(5)
Given the various risks attached to hyperconnectivity, disconnecting from electronic devices is a new security feature. Their are plenty of steps you can take to maintain your privacy in the information age: Lock down your privacy settings, disable location based posting, limit the information you share, use non-connect security devices and try using a more private search engine, like GoodGopher.com.
Sources include:
(1) http://drdarlkolb.blogspot.com
(3) http://www.mcclatchydc.com
