The Debate Over Privacy vs. Security on Social Media

Abstract

This research essay will examine some academic literature on the value that people place on their personal privacy and how it may relate to security measures that protect user accounts on popular social media sites. This essay will argue that the question is whether people prefer security over privacy, or vice versa is complex and will draw upon diverse literature and socio-technical analyses in order to answer it. The analysis will examine in depth the different ways in which personal data is collected and stored through social media, as well as the implications of personal data theft through the lens of an attack on online privacy (Vishwanath et al., 2018). It provides theoretical underpinnings for understanding the motivation behind these actions. It will also analyze the different ways that personal privacy is commonly circumvented in order to compare protective actions on privacy and security on social media accounts.Ultimately, the goal is to raise awareness around these issues in contemporary society, in which the prolific use of platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has meant there are more opportunities than ever to exploit personal data. There is a growing number of people without a critical understanding of the risks associated with compiling large amounts of often intimate information on public networks. It is hoped that this research will encourage platform users to become more informed about their privacy settings and the data they share, but there are also implications for platform developers on how to build user-friendly and secure interfaces. These recommendations will be discussed in conclusion, following a comprehensive and critical discussion on the current state of social media privacy in a network society.

 Keywords privacy, security, social media, personal data, data theft, user awareness, socio-technical analysis