Access: Do your expectations of personal privacy change based on the time or place, audience, or channel? If so, how do your expectations vary, and why? If your expectations don’t vary, why not?
Overview
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” In this journal, you will reflect on the idea of personal privacy in the digital age and what you believe the general public and organizations should have the right to protect.
Prompt
As a professional communicator, you may need to make decisions about data-collection and sharing practices that, while legal, push the boundaries of professional and personal ethics. Answer the questions below using a journal response format, and base your answers on both what you’ve learned about privacy from this module and your own thoughts and opinions. Cite any evidence you use to support your response according to APA style.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Right to Privacy: Do we have the right to be alone and have privacy? Why or why not?
Channels: Should expectations of personal privacy vary from channel to channel? In your answer, compare your expectation of privacy in the following situations:
Handwriting an entry into a personal journal at home versus writing a social media post that would be sent to a dozen friends (considering the implications if your post were to go viral)
Writing a letter to a friend from your personal email account versus using your work email account
Sending a text message to a family member from a work cell phone versus your personal cell phone
Access: Do your expectations of personal privacy change based on the time or place, audience, or channel? If so, how do your expectations vary, and why? If your expectations don’t vary, why not?
Ethical Considerations: If you were faced with a decision that involved legally disrupting someone’s privacy, how would you approach making that decision? What considerations would you need to take into account, and why? How would social media impact your considerations?
Guidelines for Submission
Submit this assignment as a 500- to 750-word Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.
