Teodora Pavkovic analyzes social media and privacy - Humanitech Era Part III – The final reflection
Teodora Pavkovic
analyzes: Social media and privacy
Humanitech Era
Part III – The final reflection
Introduction, questions and final words by Alfredo
Pupillo
All responses by Teodora Pavkovic
Introduction
In this final
article, Teodora leads us deeper into one of the central themes of the
conference: our experience on social media.
The following
is a list of the main topics presented:
- Human
rights on social media
- The complexity and limitations of
privacy
- Social
responsability
- The control social media exerts over our lives
- Mental health and suffering on social media
- Young
people’s experiences
- How Covid is influencing our social media
experience
- Experiences from Teodora’s professional
consulting practice
- Trends
Can you tell us
about the relationship between mental health and privacy?
The right to
privacy is an essential human right, one that has undoubtedly become harder to
uphold in the digital age. It is a double-sided coin, in the sense that the
responsibility to protect our personal information lies both on us and
on other people, and I believe it has become more challenging for both sides to
fully realize that responsibility. Not only that, but the very definition
of privacy has shifted with the introduction of platforms such as Facebook and
TikTok, used to share some of the most intimate moments of our lives with
hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of other people. It isn't just
about social media though - there are numerous other channels through which we
also share our personal data (many are integrated within social media
platforms), such as service apps like Uber, wearables such as Fitbit, and
entertainment apps like Spotify.
When we look at
the present-day digital landscape, we realize that - in some ways - we have
actually never had more control over our privacy. While recognizing the
power of all of the alluring features of persuasive design as well as the
complex language used in most Privacy Policies, we still have to remember that
it is ultimately our own finger on the "post" and
"accept" buttons and it is our own choice as to what, why, how, when,
and if we post any given detail of our life. And this is where our
mental health as the users becomes a relevant issue, because we find that
people feel differently about posting personal information online: some
find that it actually helps to improve and preserve their wellbeing
and they love to share a lot of information, whereas others find that the
responses and interactions they end up having impact their mood and thinking
negatively and they prefer not to share too much. It’s important to introspect
and see where you stand on this issue, and what you are most
comfortable with - don’t [over]share simply because that’s just what everyone
is doing nowadays.
So, when it
comes to making decisions around sharing online, what I recommend is that
people always consider the what, why, how, when and if of their posts,
and that they never forget that they have no control over what others will do
with the information they have just shared. The simple truth is that sharing
our own experiences, thoughts and other details of our lives online leave us
very vulnerable.
This last point
is vitally important, because this is where we have seen the mental health of
young people in particular suffer over the past several years: the design of
our digital meeting places means that any number of people can respond in any
number of ways to our existence in the virtual world, with no guarantee that
anyone will be kind, gracious or supportive. My definition of what it means to
be digital well can offer some additional guidance here: "Being
Digitally Well means using technology mindfully, intentionally and humanely in
such a way, that it doesn't tarnish your psychological and emotional well-being
or the psychological and emotional well-being of others."
How can we
identify healthy levels of privacy on social media? Symptoms/Signs
This is one of
the most important questions of the modern digital age, and the hardest to
answer. Keeping in mind, again, that the protection of privacy is both
our job and the job of others (other users and the platforms
themselves), I think we are doing important work to ensure that the apps and
platforms we use step-up their privacy protection game. It is unlikely, though,
that we will ever be able to come up with one widely-accepted set of good vs
bad privacy habits to follow as individuals, simply because the power to
share is in each of our individual hands.
There was a
recent example that, I think, serves as the perfect case study for this
question. In October of this year, well-known couple Crissy Teigen and John
Legend decided to share the news of the tragic loss of their third child, who
was stillborn at just over 4 months of Crissy's pregnancy. The couple chose to
share the news in - literally - graphic detail, in the form of photographs
taken from the hospital room as the tragedy was unfolding, with one photograph
even showing their swaddled stillborn child. The response they received was
split, with some people thanking and praising them, and others criticizing them
harshly for sharing such intimate details with the world via social media. In
response, Teigen said: “I lived it, I chose to do it, and more than
anything, these photos aren’t for anyone but the people who have lived this or
are curious enough to wonder what something like this is like. These photos are
only for the people who need them. The thoughts of others do not matter to me.”
Her response
encapsulates perfectly just how difficult it is to identify what
"healthy" levels of privacy on social media ultimately are and how
[over]sharing can be defined, but it also reminds us that when it comes to
social media use as individuals, we not only have the power to decide what
content we create but what content we consume too.
And so, when it
comes to sharing personal information online, we need to be seriously vigilant
about sharing information that can be potentially dangerous in the 'real world'
(for example, excessive "sharenting" by parents of sensitive
information such as their children's location), but when it comes to sharing
the private intimate moments of our lives that won't necessarily harm anyone
else, it is up to us to employ a mindful approach that explores the meaning behind that
sharing.
Are these levels
different now as compared to before Covid?
I would say
they undoubtedly are - but not necessarily in a bad way.
The pandemic
has changed both our offline and online behaviors in so many significant ways,
that it is interesting to consider how privacy levels, in particular, have been
impacted. We know that the restrictions around connecting in-person have
swiftly led us to connecting online more than ever before, and given that
everyone's mental health has been so deeply impacted by the spread of this
virus, we have witnessed a huge outpour of social support and encouragement on
various social media platforms. I myself have seen some beautiful examples of
people reaching out to complete strangers on social media - especially to those
living by themselves - and offering to be someone they can communicate with and
check-in with so that they feel less scared and alone during these difficult
times.
People's honest
sharing about the state of their mental health has led to these types of
incredibly humane digital interactions, and so I do think that this global
state of worry has given us the permission (and in some cases, the imperative)
to share more about what we think and feel. And as long as we remain mindful,
respectful, and compassionate, I think that the current levels of sharing are
alright - this, however, is without taking into consideration what the various
tech platforms are going to be doing with all of this data we are
sharing.
HUMANITECH was
organized by Teodora Pavkovic and Anya Pechko, with the support of David Klein
and Patrick McAndrew.
Final words
In this article, I preferred not to include our
usual "Key Concepts," to keep these topics open for further
reflection.
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