ANSWER THIS QUESTION
Is there any time or situation we are not being monitored?? Is “privacy for” or “privacy from” an outdated sociological theory to apply to this week’s topic?
Your analysis of that should be supported by additional research with some of your own opinion in “the mix”
The first post should be no longer than 4 -6 paragraphs.
THEN REPLY BACK TO THE PARAGRAPHS I HAVE ANSWERED ON THE QUESTION
1. As seen by our ability to track activities on platforms like Engage and employers’ surveillance of their employees, monitoring is everywhere in both professional and educational settings, raising serious concerns about the condition of privacy in modern society. We are prompted by this discussion to consider whether the sociological theories of “privacy from” and “privacy for” still hold true in our increasingly computerized and monitored lifestyles.
First, in an age where digital traces are both permanent and unavoidable, the concept of “privacy for,” which refers to the right to a private area for self-expression free from social scrutiny, appears to be disappearing. It is possible to track, store, and analyze every click, comment, and online interaction often without the user’s express permission. As surveillance grows increasingly widespread in everyday life, the idea of “privacy from,” or protection from intrusion by others, particularly governments and companies, is also under attack.
2. Privacy as a negative right, or as the freedom to separate, hide secrets, or exclude the public from certain information may be a bit outdated for today’s world. Some amount of disclosure is necessary, sometimes even mandatory, especially when considering the personal information that an employer may ask for. An employer may request your full name, SSN, date of birth, address, credit scores, background checks and so on. You may expect this employer to utilize that information in a specific manner, but it would certainly be an invasion of privacy if they had a data breach and your information were to be leaked. However, some scholars view privacy as more intellectual, which blends the interests of personal autonomy and the metaphor of private spaces. In this regard, George Kateb has argued, “simply being watched could constitute an injury because it demeans us as persons” (Waldman, 2018, p. 27).
