Science fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is an important part of our society. Why, you may ask? Well, for starters, it has already invaded nearly every aspect of how we see the world. I bet that there's not a single one of you who is completely ignorant to the popularity of say, Star Wars, Star Trek or any other kind of popular sci-fi cult followings like that. You know what I'm talking about, the "Trekkies" or the people who fancy themselves as Jedi's [not harshing on you, just trying to make a comparison].
What I really researched was a less cult-ish side to things. Science fiction is where people can imagine incredible things that have to do with technology and science. Since there are such things as science and technology in the real world, it's easy for science fiction and reality to overlap. For instance, there are automatic doors, cell phones and handheld computers like PDA's and Crackberries. You don't really think about it too much since these things are a part of your everyday life, but a while ago such things were unheard of. They were merely a staple of science fiction futuristic devices that people only dreamed of existing. I looked into how real-life things were inspired by literature rather than the other way around. Literature is usually influenced by real life.
Since I don't want to go any further and risk boring Mrs. X with everything that was in my essay (because I'm sure she had enough of it the first time around) I'm going to get right into what I really had planned.
I'm sure that everyone knows how the computer is really important in most sci-fis, right? You know, like it takes over the world or something? Well, today, there is something like that, and that's the internet and privacy. I don't want to sound like some crazy person who wears tinfoil to stop the satellites from scanning my brain but the internet and the world of technology can be a scary place. I feel that it would be a good idea to inform you about it a bit, since it has something to do with my project and of course, everyone in this room.
Okay, I'm assuming that everyone knows about the World Wide Web. I'm sure you've all used it before, and if you haven't, I can't help but wonder if you're kind of crazy. Anyway, the internet is an amazing thing, isn't it? It can do just about anything, and can connect you to people all over the world. Of course, you knew that though, right? You know about all of these highly popular social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace and all that. Can I get a show of hands for people who have a Facebook account?
There's a few of you, I guess then, eh? Well, I'm hoping that you read the fine print when you were joining. Okay, seriously, who does that? Well. You should know that you can never fully delete your account, right? It's true. There's still a little profile for people to check out even after you try to get rid of it. It's basically permanent. Everything on the internet is permanent, from e-mails to text messages to pictures, it's all stored in servers and caches all over the place, and you'll never get rid of it.
Back to the whole Facebook thing. I have a quote here, from the Privacy Policy on Facebook that you might find interesting if you haven't read it.
"We may use information about you that we collect from other sources, including but not limited to newspapers and Internet sources such as blogs, instant messaging services, Facebook Platform developers and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile." (Facebook Privacy Policy)
Scary. So, what they're saying is that they'll just plaster everything they find about you on your page. Sure, you might say, "oh, well it saves me the trouble". But, have you considered that you might not want some of that stuff on there, or this company looking into your business?
So, what this means is that you have your own personal company to research you, yay, how exciting. Well, have you thought about who else could be looking you up? I know that you all want to get jobs in the future, go to college or university, all kinds of respectable things like that, right? Who wouldn't? You see, there's a catch nowadays though. A big catch. Since whatever you put on the internet stays there, anyone with enough time on their hands can find you. Yeah, so guess what those employers and recruiters are doing---yup, they're browsing whatever you've got posted all over Facebook and Myspace, Livejournal, Youtube, whatever they can find with a search engine.
