Interactivity at a price!

This week we'll explore some of the social and ethical issues surrounding interactive media. Despite all the benefits that we enjoy, there are plenty of causes for concern when we spend substantial time and resources interacting with media content and other users.

One of the most obvious issues is the potential loss of personal privacy. Interactive media websites frequently collect personal data from you as you browse and most of the time their use of this data is simply to provide a more satisfying user experience. However, there are plenty of instances where the line is crossed and where users become unwitting participants. Users want to wield control over their "marketing profile" the way that they control what parts of their personal profiles are available to other users of social networking sites. The YouTube clip below takes a somewhat humorous look at personal data being used unethically.



As the clip amply demonstrates, vigilance on the part of the user is a necessary--though not always adequate--first line of defense. For another angle on the privacy issue, check out this article from the NYTimes.