For the last few years, I have set my sights on social media. I don't just mean I am an average Gen Z obsessor. I genuinely am interested in making it my livelihood. I love the way it changes constantly and always demands creativity and innovation. Though, since my first welcome into social media on my thirteenth birthday, my parents have repeatedly reminded me that my social footprint matters. At the time, I simply was annoyed, but now I see how correct they are and how grateful I am for their watchful eye over my accounts. They have also enabled me to be in control of what I put out online and ask permission before they post me. This, however, is a major issue facing children today. Many children are not given autonomy over their digital footprint because their parents are posting them before they understand what social media is. More on that later. I will now discuss my digital footprint.
A brief account of my online footprint
I also have a Facebook account that I created to join college groups when I was a high school senior. Though, every once and a while I visit the site to see what my parents have posted about me. I often find pictures on there that I have never seen, though my parents did ask my permission to post after whatever event took place. Of course, they often can be embarrassing.
All in all, I think my online presence reflects the values my parents set out for me, and for that I am proud. In the age of Fintas and private stories, I hope to remain diligent about my digital footprint. I don't want my career to be ruined because of a momentary lapse of judgment I put on the internet.
Helpful or Hurtful?
Now, we take a brief pitstop into a world I am learning about for the first time, Artificial Intelligence. Similar to social media, AI is changing the way we live and interact with one another. Though, AI may be more impactful and more costly to our future. This will be a pivotal technology similar to the revolutionary qualities of the internet itself.
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| An example of China's facial recognition software. |
Technology, in theory, is a helpful, innovative, and sometimes life-saving endeavor. Though, it comes at a cost to our privacy, our relationships, our values, and maybe even our peace. The 1965 FUTURAMA ride saw blissful utopia but was unable to foresee the unrest that was to come. The documentary In the Age of AI does a wonderful job of examining the positives and negatives of technology.
The game Go, which is popular in China has been played for generations. Recently, Google created Google Alpha Go that featured deep learning. The machine was able to make moves that humans have not thought of in their years of playing Go and beat the best Go player in China. This is one way that AI has been able to beat human intelligence. This marked our entrance into a new age of AI which will, like all other aspects of technology challenge our way of life.
China itself is firmly in the age of AI, where for Americans it feels more like a distant possibility. The citizens are able to pay with facial recognition software. A person can get a loan in eight seconds because a computer is able to survey over 5,000 data points in that time. China is taking on the world's most innovative AI culture. Though, we are yet to see the ramifications of an AI culture, meaning China serves as an experiment. By 2030, China plans to lead the world in AI, and they are well on their way.
In AI, data is the most valuable thing. The facial recognition and advanced technology in China have allowed them to collect an immense amount of data. The amount they have is about 10 times the US. As AI runs on data, China's AI will inherently work better because they have more information to use as a foundation. China is living in a culture of surveillance and convenience. These two aspects come together and remain together with innovative technology. One must decide if they are willing to sacrifice their privacy for ease.
Though, this technology will come at a price. An estimated 50 percent of jobs will be threatened by AI. The creation of self-driving trucks could possibly eliminate the job of a truck driver. This is a livelihood many depend on. White-collar jobs are especially threatened, as the computer can do much analysis and reporting. Computers are less equipped to perform blue-collar tasks that provide humanistic skills like that of hand-eye coordination.
AI is the perfect case study to see technology's effect on human life. Technology was created to revolutionize our lives, and it did. Though, it also shifted our spread of information and relationships. Even Wired magazine, which used to champion technology, now warns of its effects from an observational stance.
So, does technology help us? Absolutely. Does it hurt us? Yes. Both can be true. It is up to us individually and as a society to choose what power we will give technology.
Kids should Choose
Moving back to the technology of social media, I wanted to discuss the issue of the privacy of children online. Young parents right now and in the next decade will have an immense responsibility to help their children navigate the digital age. Recently, we have seen multiple celebrities be 'canceled' based on their social-media history. Though some of these things certainly deserved to be pointed out, my mind travels to those who have no control over their digital footprint: the children of family vloggers.
In middle school, I became embarrassingly interested in the picture-perfect lives of family bloggers. They are the typical nuclear families that name their children after nature and seem to have endless supplies of money. This, however, is new. We do not yet know what the children of these parental vloggers will think about their claim to fame. Their birth, first steps, the first day of school, a bad grade, bad behaviors, and everything in between is documented. Will they be bullied? Are they being compensated for their work? Does spending time with their parents feel more like a business transaction? AI may one day restrict our privacy, but these children do not have privacy in their own homes. They have no say, no regulations to protect them, and no concept of the ramifications a video could have on their future. Their parents are not obligated to give them the money they earn, nor are they mandated by child labor laws. The vlog may be the child having fun in Disney, but it is still working because a camera is in their face.
I wanted to write about this for my final post because I can sympathize with these kids. As mentioned above, I too have been embarrassed as a result of a post that I did not know my mom made. I set boundaries with her after that embarrassment so there was no harm done. However, these children are not cognizant enough to set boundaries with social media because they are vlogged from the womb. The 14-year-old in this article shared the same sentiments when she awakened to the world of social media. She too set boundaries after her embarrassment. Then, imagine that is your parents' entire livelihood. Your most embarrassing moments, your highs and lows are all on the internet. These children are too young to understand what this will mean for them in the future, and I can only hope regulations for them will be implemented in the coming years.
In the below video, a YouTube creator discusses in great detail family vloggers. It is really lengthy but has a lot of great information:
So, what can we do? At the very least wait to post your child's face until they are old enough to agree to it and really understand the implications. There are creative ways to still share your child on the internet without identifying them. The world can wait to know them.
It seems that every time a new piece of technology is put out we lose our privacy a bit more. This, however, can change. With the right governmental regulations, we can reap the benefits of AI and social media without compromising our privacy. Though, the road in front of us is long and will be full of trial and error. I can only do my part to protect my online footprint and the online footprint of my family.
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