Part of the problem is the fact that I wasn't even aware of the status quo to which I've been subscribing.
In class, Proffessor Kim challenged us to rethink our norms, our ideas of what is normal. I thought the idea of a privacy-free online world is just the way things are. I figured there was no use fighting the inevitable: that privacy has become a luxury commodity.
But Kim showed me how this hasn't always been the case, and it doesn't have to be in the future.
After all, we've spent much of this course covering how twitter and slacktivism can impact the world.
As the Professor put it, "Social change happens on multiple levels and never evenly or quickly" (@mukurtu on Twitter). She's right of course. If people use the tools available, we can actively fight the encroachment of our privacy rights.
Maybe, hopefully, someone higher up will listen.
Personally, I hope to watch out for such polarized, open/close ideologies in the future. I need to protect myself from a very western, polarized way of thinking. It's easy to fall into thinking black and white, but many issues, especially ones in today's digital circles, are far from clear-cut.
So, back to the question: why does Facebook privacy matter?
Because it's another marker of our receding rights, rights which every person should hold without question. Our lives have become increasingly digital, but this does not give an excuse to companies and/or the government to infringe on our right to withhold information. We don't have to believe that this is how it's always been.
