Technology has become the lens through which we perceive and experience day-to-day life. Take the smartphone as an example. What used to be a technological rarity and business-oriented tool has become the nexus of our personal and recreational lives.

Pew Research Center has found that more than three-quarters (77 percent) of Americans currently own and use Android, iOS, or Windows mobile smartphones. And they found that the percentage is even higher among younger generations. An astounding 92 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds own smartphones.

Of course, smartphones and other portable devices help us access the Internet, which facilitates communication and seamless, simultaneous, and instantaneous sending and receiving of information. We also use it to make purchases.

Source: Statista

In 2017 alone, U.S. citizens spent approximately $780 billion in mobile payments on smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices. And due to the increased frequency with which we’re using mobile shopping apps like Amazon and eBay, peer-to-peer payment services (i.e., PayPal), and even in-app purchases, this figure is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2019.

For all the benefits (and convenient shopping) the Digital Age has afforded us, the Internet is also a major cause for concern regarding privacy and security. Although a lot of the information that we send and receive over the World Wide Web is innocuous and of nominal importance, we exchange a ton of sensitive data, too.

For instance, data from 2016 showed that 62 percent of Americans managed their finances primarily online rather than in-person. This means lots of credit card and loan applications sent, accounts logged into, balances checked, credit reports requested, and so on over the Internet every day. Even if we only consider banking and finance, that’s a lot of sensitive information – current and past addresses, birth dates, and Social (Read more...)