BEWARE POSTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Wharton School of the U. of Pennsylvania did an interesting and quite comprehensive study on whether you give up your privacy when posting information online. This article is must reading, especially for the younger set. There are two points well worth covering in relation to my concept of giving the individual control over their names and personal data, and compensating them for its sale. Number one, there is a burning question of who owns the information on sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, and the like. The junk mail companies are convinced they own your sensitive data, and the attitude may be catching. Number two, these sites will most likely hold on to your private information forever, regardless of how active you are. There seems to be an utter lack of concern within the younger generation about giving up their personal data, breeding a generation of grownups that will be even more apathetic about the problem than their parents…if that’s possible.