I saw this article in the emarketer newsletter and it struck a chord with me because I am worried about this all the time not only with mobile but also with facebook. I've never accepted any of these apps on facebook that then allow the app supplier access to your private information and network. I've also been hesitant with mobile, but in this increasingly mobile world, I often uncomfortably accept an app to get access to an app which I know many others use. I suppose I figure in that context if everyone else is doing it, why not? Probably not the best thought process in decision making.
There were a few interesting statistics that I took away from the article, that I thought others might relate to as well.
- 54% of US mobile users decided not to install an app because they were afraid of how their personal info would be used
- Demographics: Users 30 and older, higher income users, and college graduates are more unlikely than average to not install an app for privacy concern
- 3 in 10 app users report uninstalling an app due to privacy concerns
- Men and lower income individuals significantly more likely to uninstall
The world of smartphones and apps has unquestionably made my life so much easier. But, by having all of this access am I giving up too much information for convenience? I feel like this is one of those things that seems fine for now, but in 10 years could have all been a huge mistake. It will be very interesting to see in the coming years how legislation impacts the sharability of all of this personal information.
This issue is definitely one of the top priority issue in this modern digital world. However, we cannot sigh away from using the social network or apps as this will be our future protocol to communicate in this inter-connected global environment. I believe we will need to set up a strong governance in place as we have set up to trace networks through IP. We should also have strong legislation in place to punish the offenders who violate the protocol of using social network and private information for malicious purpose.
ReplyDeleteIn summary, we will need to figure out a process to monitor, measure and execute the wrong doings of the few handful of people to make this world a better place to live for others. I am aware that this is much easier said than done but we as responsible global citizens need to start think in this direction to make this a reality in the future.