Social Media are Data Brokers

Social Media, Social Media and Social Media. Can we survive without the social media? It is almost a proven fact that we can't live without the social media. Our lives are so much engrossed with the social media that we can't even breathe, drink, eat or sleep without it. In the future, people may wish their death shots shared in the social media!

Our lives are so much engrossed with the social media

We eat something together or alone. We share the pictures on Facebook with a hash tag "Lunch" or "Dinner". We go out on a picnic with family and friends. We share tons of photos. We buy a new dress and post a bunch of photos on instagram. Great moments are always shared and liked.

People may wish their death shots shared in the social media (a social startup may offer this service soon)

But when we lose our personal and private data, specially the financial data, then we are worried. Then we try to find out ways how to keep our data safe on the social media. The sad truth is that we already shared and lost all our personal information in the social media. The shared (and stolen) data are now in the hands of the data brokers.

Shared (and stolen) data are now in the hands of the data brokers

Who are the data brokers? The group of people who collect or buy data, sell and distribute data are the data brokers. One can always get the required data from these data brokers. Now the social media are the vast source where personal data of the users are available.

Social media are the places where personal data of the users are available for various use

Most of these social media, such as Facebook of the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal fame, make data harvesting easy by keeping the "soft doors" opened for the data hackers. The default user profiles are those "soft doors" those make data stealing simple for the data hackers.

We are the data, and the social media are the data brokers

Can we now recognize the social media as the effective data brokers? We, the users, are the data. And, the social media are the data brokers. Even the service providers of any consumer product are also the sellers and distributors of the user data. Can we do anything about it? We can try by modifying the default user profiles and opting for not sharing our personal information. But we can't be so sure that the user licenses of the social media are safeguarding our personal data.

I wish to ask my friends what to do if our personal and private data are already shared and lost through the open profiles of the social media.

Picture source: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic  https://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20180329&t=2&i=1245996099&r=LYNXMPEE2R123&w=940 

Here are some other posts I authored:

• Is Blockchain Siphoning off Resources of the World?
  
• Biometric Security, iPhone X and the Privacy Concern
  
• Why are Data so Vulnerable?
  
• Glasses-Free 3D Displays Empower Smartphones, TVs, Tablets and Digital Signage
• Memory-Driven Computing is the Next Big Thing
• Unix-like Operating Systems are Safer to Malware and Virus Attacks
• Why Google and Microsoft Run after Glass and Lens?
• Best Solution to Software Virus
• Need 15 Tips to Eat a Biscuit?

In June 2015, Dr. Jeffrey Strickland and I founded a new LinkedIn Group called "The Unfluencers". To learn about the history of "The Unfluencers" please read the seminal LinkedIn article by Dr. Jeffrey Strickland entitled -- "Who are the Unfluencers". This group is an open group. You are welcome to join this group and engage yourself in the discussions. The Unfluencerᵀᴹ Logo is a registered trademark of Dr. Jeffrey Strickland.

Text Copyright 2018 Debesh Choudhury — All Rights Reserved 

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Debesh Choudhury is an academician and researcher. He is interested in the science and engineering of optics and electronics. He uses GNU/Linux, Free and Open Source Software for all his works related to computers, be it educational or entertainment, professional or personal.