The Privacy of Phones

Phones are really diverse nowadays. It has a vast range of capabilities like cameras, music players, speech and video recorders, internet access, emails, and short messaging system. The technology has made communication easier and real time, that there is no longer an excuse for any hand held phone owners to deny having to miss a message or an important event as long as the phone is within his reach. Phone manufacturers battle it out in producing new ideas and new concepts of utilizing the advance technology that they have possess during the past decade.

Aside from the great features and the unlimited access to various media, phones have been a subject of scrutiny during its walk to the path of technological advancement. Hundreds or even thousands of pictures are taken everyday for a very largely populated urban area. Quick sharing these various media made people hungry for things to be captured on film or in camera. I myself can never the deny the existence of spreading scandals involving nude celebrities, sexual acts by couples having fun with their phones, and pictures that amazes people of their unusual nature. Having the ability to share it with friends, people tend to breach the privacy to which we adhere to during our days of independence. To be publicly viewed naked is something that most of us can never think of during our life time. With the phones that we own right here and right now, people feel naked, and can even victimize innocent people who hardly know what happened. As we browse through the internet, we can view snapshots viewing their under wears as they publicly ride a train. The threat of having been exposed is a nightmare of every lady innocently taking a ride to wherever destination. 

We can recall Singapore law makers passing a bill prohibiting camera phone owners to take pictures without consent or without any sound signaling that they are taking pictures of something in public areas. Why can our government do the same privacy advocacies to prevent the theft of one’s privacy? Maybe privacy is not that important to us. Or maybe we are oblivious and still phones are wonders of technology that helps us in attaining ease in our everyday lives. 

By: Regine Anne Quimada