Difference between revisions of "User:Spavitra"

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== '''Introduction''' ==
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== The Internet as a Wall ==
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The world wide web is a vast universe of information, more information than any one of us can consume in a lifetime. Because of the sheer amount of information that exists on the internet, it is easy to assume that we leave a minimal trace when we make posts, highlight articles, and comment on videos. However, every small action we make online can be traced back to us. As someone who has gotten many lectures about online privacy from their very cautious father, I have always set my social media accounts to private and been careful about what kind of personal information I enter on websites. Contrary to my belief though, there was a good amount of information about me online.  
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[[File:Walking.jpeg|thumbnail|right|The internet as a wall.]]
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The world wide web is a vast universe of information, more information than any one of us can consume in a lifetime.  
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Because of the sheer amount of information that merely exists on the internet, it is easy to assume that we leave a minimal trace when we make posts, highlight articles, and comment on videos. However, every small action we make online can be traced back to us. When you set your social media accounts to private or choose not to put out information that could later be traced to you, you essentially put up a wall between you and the outside world. You prevent other users from finding out things about you that you do not want them to know. As someone who has gotten many lectures about online privacy from their very cautious father, I have always set my accounts to private and been careful about what kind of personal information I enter on websites. My findings about myself online are representative of this.
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== My Stone Wall Online ==
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When analyzing the information I found about myself online, I see it as a sort of stone wall. It is really hard to see past the wall, but if you take out some of the right bricks, you can get a peek at what lies behind the wall.
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=== The Stones ===
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When Googling just my full name, it was difficult to find almost any information about me. There seem to be thousands of other “Pavitra Srinivasan’s” that exist online who unknowingly helped me hide my online presence. All these other people with the same name as me kind of act as stones in the wall I’ve built with my identity online. With me behind the wall, they block those in front of the wall from seeing my personal information.
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However, I have taken an effort to put up some stones myself. My Facebook privacy settings are set to not allow search engines outside of Facebook to link to my account, and the other social media accounts that I do have, while also private, do not have much activity on them. These are extra steps I have taken to ensure my privacy, and clearly the stones have held strong.
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[[File:Wall.png|thumbnail|left|Images of other Pavitra's immersed with my own.]]
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=== Taking out a Stone ===
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If you know the right stone to take out of my wall, then you can get access to some information about me. For example, let’s say that someone knows I go to the University of Michigan.
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When searching up my name along with the words “University of Michigan,” a flurry of relevant information about me pops up: my LinkedIn, Facebook posts from my previous job through the university, a website leading to my current job, and an interview from a company I worked for last summer.
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So yes, someone was able to take out the right stones and get some information about me, but these are all tidbits about myself that I have made sure were associated with my identity at the University of Michigan.
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=== Purpose ===
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There is a reason I have put forth effort toward creating an online wall. As Luciano Floridi says, your online identity is “comparable to seeing oneself as seen by others.” The wall I have put up online is a conscious effort on my part to be seen a certain way. When I am searching for a job, I do not want companies to see my doubts about myself or what I do on a weekend, I want them to see my achievements.
  
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== '''Google Search''' ==
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=== Breaking Down the Wall? ===
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Just as I was getting confident in the online wall that I built, I got access to a Databroker Report about myself. Although much of the information in this report was information about my other namesakes, there were some things scrounged about myself that I did not know I had online. The report knew who my parents were and they knew who my neighbors were. I was wondering where this data about me came from, but after a little digging I realized it all came from my voter records, which is public information. The report found my parents because we have the same permanent address, and they also found my neighbors through the same address. For the time being, it seems as though the wall I built for myself is sturdy.
  
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When I do a quick search on Google of my name, there are actually not a lot of links leading back to me. My Facebook settings are set to not allow search engines outside of Facebook to link to my account, so my Facebook profile does not show up on Google. In fact, doing a search of only my name “Pavitra Srinivasan” does not bring up any relevant information about me until about the third page in on Google. Even on the third page, there was only one link referring back to me.  
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== My Stone Wall Offline ==
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I feel as though my online presence encapsulates how I present myself in real life. I am not someone who shares my life story and my thoughts with just anyone. To get those things out of me, you really have to get to know me, which is essentially a process of removing brick by brick until you see the real me. The difference between my online wall and my offline wall is that some people have made it behind my offline wall, which is a choice I willingly made.  
  
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However, when I look up my name along with the words “University of Michigan,” a flurry of relevant information about me pops up. The first link shown is my Linkedin, which is not necessarily a detrimental thing. The purpose of Linkedin is to be seen by employers, so I find it helpful that my Linkedin is the first thing that shows up with my name associated with the university.  
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== I am Not My Wall ==
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[[File:Identity.jpeg|thumbnail|right|I choose what part of myself I put online.]]
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Along with my Linkedin, there are a few links to Facebook posts made about me from a job I had two summers ago at the university. From this post, people know that I am in the College of Literature, Science, and Arts at the University of Michigan, and also when exactly I worked at this place.
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Although I have related the wall I have created online with how I present myself in real life, the information about myself online does not actually showcase who I am as a person. Online, you cannot see my hobbies, my social life, or my insecurities. You can only see what I want you to see. Dean Cocking goes more into this with his discussion of active and passive selves. When it comes to my online identity, my active self is the one who is ambitious and intelligent. When my friends see me on LinkedIn, they are not going to post about my passive self, the person I am when I hang out with them.
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They see how I am trying to represent myself, so they will put aside the aspects of my passive self in this moment. This might not truly represent me as a whole, but it is the part of myself that I want to be showcased.
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After these, there are only a few more relevant links that relate to me. One was an interview I did with a place I interned last summer, and this interview includes information about what I am studying and where I go to school. Another website includes voter information about me, including my home address as well as the where I lived freshman year of college.
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As time goes on and I move forward in my career, I will continue to keep my online wall strong. Though peeks behind this wall might not truly represent me as a whole, it is the part of myself that I want to be showcased.
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All in all, I thought there would be more information about me online found through Google. Other than my street address, the rest of the information that led back to me I did not find to be a big threat to my privacy.  
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== '''Databroker Report''' ==
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In relation to the Databroker Report that was given to me in class, there was some information about me that I was surprised to find on the report, but there was also a lot of information that did not relate to me. I never thought that “Pavitra Srinivasan” would be a common name online, but the report shows the opposite. My name seems to be pretty common and there was a lot of information provided that must relate to other “Pavitra Srinivasan’s.”
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What was especially interesting to me was that there was information found about my parents. I am curious to know how I am linked to my parents online, as I have no recollection of any website or posting that have my parents’ names linked with mine.
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It was also especially creepy to know that there was information about the duration of when I still lived with my parents. The report was even accurate with the names of my neighbors and their addresses.
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== '''Conclusion''' ==
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In my opinion, my online presence is nowhere near an accurate portrayal of myself. Sure, people can find out that I am a student at the University of Michigan, and that I am originally from Michigan, and a few tidbits about what I did for some summers, but these are not things that I think pose a threat to my privacy.  
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Because there is not very much information about me online (through a quick search), my online presence does not have a huge change over time. There is barely a trace of me from when I went to high school, and there is little information about my college career.
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Latest revision as of 13:56, 18 March 2020

The Internet as a Wall

The internet as a wall.

The world wide web is a vast universe of information, more information than any one of us can consume in a lifetime. Because of the sheer amount of information that merely exists on the internet, it is easy to assume that we leave a minimal trace when we make posts, highlight articles, and comment on videos. However, every small action we make online can be traced back to us. When you set your social media accounts to private or choose not to put out information that could later be traced to you, you essentially put up a wall between you and the outside world. You prevent other users from finding out things about you that you do not want them to know. As someone who has gotten many lectures about online privacy from their very cautious father, I have always set my accounts to private and been careful about what kind of personal information I enter on websites. My findings about myself online are representative of this.

My Stone Wall Online

When analyzing the information I found about myself online, I see it as a sort of stone wall. It is really hard to see past the wall, but if you take out some of the right bricks, you can get a peek at what lies behind the wall.

The Stones

When Googling just my full name, it was difficult to find almost any information about me. There seem to be thousands of other “Pavitra Srinivasan’s” that exist online who unknowingly helped me hide my online presence. All these other people with the same name as me kind of act as stones in the wall I’ve built with my identity online. With me behind the wall, they block those in front of the wall from seeing my personal information. However, I have taken an effort to put up some stones myself. My Facebook privacy settings are set to not allow search engines outside of Facebook to link to my account, and the other social media accounts that I do have, while also private, do not have much activity on them. These are extra steps I have taken to ensure my privacy, and clearly the stones have held strong.

Images of other Pavitra's immersed with my own.

Taking out a Stone

If you know the right stone to take out of my wall, then you can get access to some information about me. For example, let’s say that someone knows I go to the University of Michigan. When searching up my name along with the words “University of Michigan,” a flurry of relevant information about me pops up: my LinkedIn, Facebook posts from my previous job through the university, a website leading to my current job, and an interview from a company I worked for last summer. So yes, someone was able to take out the right stones and get some information about me, but these are all tidbits about myself that I have made sure were associated with my identity at the University of Michigan.

Purpose

There is a reason I have put forth effort toward creating an online wall. As Luciano Floridi says, your online identity is “comparable to seeing oneself as seen by others.” The wall I have put up online is a conscious effort on my part to be seen a certain way. When I am searching for a job, I do not want companies to see my doubts about myself or what I do on a weekend, I want them to see my achievements.

Breaking Down the Wall?

Just as I was getting confident in the online wall that I built, I got access to a Databroker Report about myself. Although much of the information in this report was information about my other namesakes, there were some things scrounged about myself that I did not know I had online. The report knew who my parents were and they knew who my neighbors were. I was wondering where this data about me came from, but after a little digging I realized it all came from my voter records, which is public information. The report found my parents because we have the same permanent address, and they also found my neighbors through the same address. For the time being, it seems as though the wall I built for myself is sturdy.

My Stone Wall Offline

I feel as though my online presence encapsulates how I present myself in real life. I am not someone who shares my life story and my thoughts with just anyone. To get those things out of me, you really have to get to know me, which is essentially a process of removing brick by brick until you see the real me. The difference between my online wall and my offline wall is that some people have made it behind my offline wall, which is a choice I willingly made.

I am Not My Wall

I choose what part of myself I put online.

Although I have related the wall I have created online with how I present myself in real life, the information about myself online does not actually showcase who I am as a person. Online, you cannot see my hobbies, my social life, or my insecurities. You can only see what I want you to see. Dean Cocking goes more into this with his discussion of active and passive selves. When it comes to my online identity, my active self is the one who is ambitious and intelligent. When my friends see me on LinkedIn, they are not going to post about my passive self, the person I am when I hang out with them. They see how I am trying to represent myself, so they will put aside the aspects of my passive self in this moment. This might not truly represent me as a whole, but it is the part of myself that I want to be showcased. As time goes on and I move forward in my career, I will continue to keep my online wall strong. Though peeks behind this wall might not truly represent me as a whole, it is the part of myself that I want to be showcased.

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