" (Employee Monitoring: Is There Privacy in the Workplace?) In my own experience I have found that technological innovations like email are an invaluable tool for communications and doing business. However I am also aware that in many ways privacy and individuality can be imposed on by these new technologies. There is also the continual and increasing danger of viruses, malware and spyware than can reside on one's computer and that can comprise personal data and information. One is in effect continually threatened by a wide range of technologies that are actually designed to interfere with individual privacy without one's knowledge. Small programs called cookies can gain entrance to a personal computer while surfing the Web and these can send out personal data and information to advertisers and marketers about your personal life.

In this sense, while email is a wonderful boon, it is at the same time a potent threat to the independent human being. This has resulted in a wide ranging debate in various quarters on the relationship between online monitoring and privacy. As one expert in the field stresses;

The Internet has grown considerably during the past decade, particularly with respect to its use as a tool for communication, entertainment, and marketplace exchange. This rapid growth has been accompanied, however, by concerns regarding the collection and dissemination of consumer information by marketers who participate in online retailing. These concerns pertain to the privacy and security of accumulated consumer data

Miyazaki, and Fernandez 27)

In essence the online world...

On the one hand there are the promise of increased communications and a myriad other advantages of the Internet. From a more personal point-of-view I am also aware of the fact that while email allows me to communicate and expand my horizons and contacts in ways that would not have been possible before, there is also the continual threat to privacy invasion through a host of new technologies.
Another issue that I personally feel strongly about is that there is a sense of anonymity and a loss of individuality in email communication itself. This is possibly related to the medium and the "no-nonsense" attitude towards the terse and concise style of sharing of data and information. However, one cannot but wonder if the older, slower and unreliable methods of communication, such as letter writing, were not slightly more personal and individualized. I feel that this is a central concern that affects many users of technology today and leaves us with a final question: are we exchanging our sense of personal identity and difference for faster and more effective techniques of communication?

Works Cited

Brand books. 12 Nov. 2006. http://www.brandchannel.com/books.asp?pageno=10

Employee Monitoring: Is There Privacy in the Workplace? 12 Nov. 2006. http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs7-work.htm

Miyazaki, Anthony D., and Ana Fernandez. "Consumer Perceptions of Privacy and Security Risks for Online Shopping." Journal of Consumer Affairs 35.1 (2001): 27. Questia. 14 Nov. 2006 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000995725.