Dr. Gates on Privacy

Dr. Gates has been a professer at Appalachian State University for 21 years. He got his undergraduate in Sociology, a Mastor's in Journalism, a law degree and then a doctorate in Media Law. He now teaches Communication Law.

He spoke to me about social media and how privacy can be effected in the use of this medium of communication. He said that even an outlet or app that claims security can only be as secure as the people you share it with. There is an app named Telegram that claims to maintain privacy but if you only share the information via this app with three or four friends you still risk one of those friends sharing your content to others outside your circle.

Axiom is an app that uses your interests to generate content that would be appealing to you personally. Dr. Gates used the example that he buys most of his clothes from L.L. Bean. Once he makes a purchase he begins to notice ads for L.L. Bean popping up on other websites because his searches were studied and ads that fit him were generated.

Dr. Gates also talked about sexting and the issue of age in the many cases where nude photos were shared without permission. If both of the people are minors there are issues, Dr. Gates said, but if one is a minor and one is an adult there can be a much greater implication. He brought up the case that happened in Fayetville, North Carolina where nude photos were shared of a sixteen-year-old girl.

Dr. Gates mentioned that those who have grown up with social media tend to put privacy on the back burner; however, those in his geneartion value privacy much more.