SIX REPLIES AND ONE DISC DUE IN 24 HOURS

Week 6 Discussion

How to Do Well in Discussions

· Respond to the specific questions posed in the discussion.

· Be sure to base your initial post and responses on course materials, and use 7th ed. APA citations in every post.

· Post your responses over three days and respond to four or more students to receive full credit for frequency of participation.

· Write clearly and proofread; errors can lose you points.

· Quality of posts, citations, frequency, and timeliness of posts all factor into your discussion grade. See the Participation Grading Rubric for details.

ALICIANA’S POST:

Do you find any of these particular practices to be ethically questionable?  What are those practices?

I do find some of these particular practices to be unorthodox and ethically questionable. Those practices are saving personal information into a cloud even after the user has deleted it. Furthermore, applications such as Grindr should ask for consent before spreading user’s information. Another ethical problem about this is that these organizations are not informing their customers, clients, users, etc. Instead they wait until they find out about it and act as if they will resolve the issue. 

Why do you think these practices are unethical using one of the ethical theories in your toolkit?

These practices are highly unethical because it goes against normative ethics. Out of the three categories under normative ethics, I would say that virtue ethics would most relate to this situation over deontology and consequentialism ethics. If virtue ethics were valued in many of these organizations that release and retain personal data, they would inform their users and obtain consent before advancing with their actions. If issues are brought up from users, they should be taken seriously and they should not arise multiple times after it has come to their attention.

Are you surprised or alarmed that so much of your personal data is available in this ecosystem?

I honestly am not surprised nor alarmed that so much of our personal data is available in this ecosystem. There are many unforeseen barriers that individuals can get through which inclines me to believe that even if these organizations did not release our personal data, there will still be ways individuals could access them. This is because of the advancement of technology, technology is still fairly new to us which is why there are so many holes in the system. 

Do you think the system ought to be changed to eliminate these practices and, if so, what changes would you suggest?

I feel like the system should be changed to eliminate these practices by having each user thoroughly read the policies and guidelines before making or utilizing an account/application. This way if the user finds anything that may make them uncomfortable they can refrain from continuing with that site. I would also suggest that if personal data is unintentionally released, the organization should warn their clients of the outbreak and try to resolve it immediately.

ANDREA’S POST:

· Do you find any of these particular practices to be ethically questionable?  What are those practices?

I do find these practices to be ethically questionable. I do not agree with the privacy issue regarding the phone numbers and email addresses being easily linked with information. The surveillance involved is intrusive and the companies fishing for information do not care. 

· Why do you think these practices are unethical using one of the ethical theories in your toolkit?

These practices are unethical due to the lack of privacy given. Privacy is little to none due to the information being linked together and accesses by companies and used to their advantage. 

· Are you surprised or alarmed that so much of your personal data is available in this ecosystem?

I want to say I am surprised but I am not. This issue with privacy and information on the internet has been talked about for a while now. I think it is interesting that “Any consumer with an average number of apps on their phone — anywhere between 40 and 80 apps — will have their data shared with hundreds or perhaps thousands of actors online" (Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says. (2020).

· Do you think the system ought to be changed to eliminate these practices and, if so, what changes would you suggest?

Yes I think the system should be changed to eliminate these practices. I would suggest to put regulations on the data being sold and bought and also to make sure to take a deeper look on how the data is being used.

Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says. (2020).

ANGELA’S POST:

Good afternoon class, 

· Do you find any of these particular practices to be ethically questionable?  What are those practices?

I do believe that these practices are not ethical, many people's personal information is put out the the public so a company can make money off of our information being sold. These practices are unethical for many reason which includes privacy. As consumers we have a right to privacy and no one should be able to see and sell our information to anyone with out consent. The New York Times states, "Companies use the tracking codes to build rich profiles of people over time across multiple apps and sites. But even without their real names, individuals in such data sets may be identified and located in real life" (para# 14). This is not safe for consumers, and yet how is it still happening. 

· Why do you think these practices are unethical using one of the ethical theories in your toolkit?

One of the tool kits that can be applied as to why this is unethical is the "Rights and duties". As consumers we have rights and as an organization that provides products they have a duty. The rights and duties discusses how there has to be a mutual understanding. For example, if there is a contract signed between one of the mentioned apps, then that contract must state it your personal information is being sold.

· Are you surprised or alarmed that so much of your personal data is available in this ecosystem?

I am not surprised. Facebook/Google and other large platforms for example sell all our information for monetary gain. Roger states, "because of the nature of Facebook’s platform, it was able to capture emotional signals of users that were not available to Google, and in 2014 it followed Google’s lead by incorporating data from users’ browsing history and other sources to make its behavioral predictions more accurate and valuable" (Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says p. 2). 

· Do you think the system ought to be changed to eliminate these practices and, if so, what changes would you suggest?

I do believe it should be changed. I believe that we should have the option to volunteer for our information to be sold. Informed consent in necessary and it is a right that we have as consumers. 

References 

Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says. (2020).

Joseph Gilbert. (2016). Ethics for Managers : Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities: Vol. Second edition. Routledge.

McNamee, R. (2019). A Brief History of How Your Privacy Was Stolen.

ANTONIO’S POST:

· Do you find any of these particular practices to be ethically questionable?  What are those practices?

I do believe some of these practices are ethically questionable. Even though platforms are no longer under the obligation to protect its user’s privacy, not doing so might not be ethical. Practices such as tracking user location, monetization strategy, surveillance capitalism, and spreading user dating choices.

· Why do you think these practices are unethical using one of the ethical theories in your toolkit?

Practices are unethical due to releasing users’ privacy information just to obtain monetary gain from it.  These practices don’t seem to fallow the normative marketing practices model which its defined as being transparent, trustworthy, responsible for organizational actions and fair to consumers and stakeholders (SAGE Publications, 2012). Based on rights and duties model, more specifically duties, I believe the company has a duty to protect users’ information, if the company is generating income by the user utilizing their product. Seems like the company is the only one obtaining any benefits from this relation.

· Are you surprised or alarmed that so much of your personal data is available in this ecosystem?

I am not surprised by how much data is being release into the ecosystem. Companies nowadays only care about generating profits, not caring about how it is really done. Protecting users’ data is the last thing on their mind. Finding ways to manipulate the user purchase, it’s the way some of these big companies are making most of their sales, for example Facebook and Amazon. There are instances when the user search for an item online and then accesses one of these platforms. Next thing you know, item is suggested by the platform and says seems you might be interested on this item. It has happened multiple times when I have searched online for products.

· Do you think the system ought to be changed to eliminate these practices and, if so, what changes would you suggest?

Even though I believe the system should be change, in all honesty, I don’t think it will. User data should not be released by the company at any costs, especially if it’s done to obtain monetary gains. Also, users’ location should not be released without their consent. Tracking users at all times might cause safety concerns to the user.

 

References:

Gilbert, J. (2016). Ethics for managers: Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities. Retrieved from https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=f2e3d356-3f08-442f-9305-7de850ebc06e%40redis&ppid=pp_66&vid=0&format=EB

McNamee, R. (2019, June 3). A brief History of your Privacy Was Stolen. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2233877088?accountid=14580&parentSessionId=msckahS%2FPS91X%2B17R6I8dqJaeSsLrFKUyORvvF5U%2Fgw%3D

New York Times Online (2020, Jan 13). Grindr and OKCupid Spread personal details, study says. Retrieved from  https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/docview/2336818351?accountid=14580

Language and Culture

Peer Responses: Respond to at least two classmates' initial posts. Posts must be at least 75 words in length and demonstrate critical thinking, engagement with course material, and a meaningful attempt to engage in discourse.

AAISHA’S POST:

New modern communication methods such as texting, calling, emailing and social media differ from face to face conversations writing letters, radios, and telephones (which are referred to as traditional ways of communication) because now people have the ability to contact anyone anywhere at any time. With new modern communication methods people have access to the whole entire world with one click of a button. The latest and modern ways of communication are more convenient and way more efficient than older methods of communicating but, older methods were much more intimate and personal. 

New methods vs. old methods of communication are similar simple based on the fact that communicating is a way of contacting and sharing information. The "how" is what has evolved over many years, only the delivery methods has changed but communication itself is the same.  

The shift in communication has led to a cultural shift in society by causing many social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc. to become easily assessable to people who speak different languages, and are used to preserve many endangered languages. As stated "Facebook is now available in over 70 languages, and Twitter in about 40 languages. For example, a website has been created that seeks to preserve Anishinaabemowin, an endangered Native American language from Michigan" (Brown, 2019). In addition to this cultural shift in society, new forms of communication allows different people from many different backgrounds who may not have had access to the outside world in the past to now have access. 

Communication has always remained the same throughout my life, there was never a significant change that occurred in regards to the way that I communicated in the past. In spite of that I continue to gain more knowledge regarding how people communicate today. I understand both the positive and negative effects that come with modernized communication and it shapes how I communicate now. I try to be more intentional with my words when I send a text, and I try to interact with humans as opposed to interacting with a screen. The way people communicate is  ever evolving, but its up to us on how we utilize these methods in the years to come. 

Resources: 

Brown, N., McIlwraith, T., & de González, T. L. (2019). Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology (2nd Edition ed.). American Anthropological Association

ALYSSA’S POST:

New forms of communication have definitely changed from the traditional ways of communicating. People no longer need to be face-to-face to talk to each other, people no longer need to spend time writing letters and sending them through the mail, and formal writing has basically turned into emails. In some ways, email is just faster than a letter or formal writing; there is also FaceTime or video chatting that helps with face-to-face conversations. Light (2018) mentions that there is a digital divide between generations who grew up with the new technology we use today and the generation that grew up using the more traditional ways of communication. With these new ways of communicating, the younger people who grew up around it learned it faster, while the older generations have not learned as fast (Light, 2018). Technology has also increased the gap between wealthier communities and poor communities (Light, 2018). With the forms of communication that we have today, we can talk to anyone worldwide who has access to these forms of communication. In my own life, I’ve been able to keep in touch with family and friends back in Michigan from Italy. Texting every once in a while to check in and having weekly phone calls have made many things more manageable. 

Reference:

Light, L. (2018). Language. In N. Brown, L. T. Gonzalez, & T. McIlwraith (Eds.), Perspectives: An open invitation to cultural anthropology (2nd ed.). Press Books.  https://perspectives.pressbooks.com/chapter/language/