Why Mobile Phone Conversations Are Never Private - Essay Example

? Why Mobile Phone Conversations Are Never Private of the Why Mobile Phone Conversations Are Never Private Contemporarytechnological advancements have brought with them devastating experiences and incremental causes of social complexities. The privacy of mobile phones for instance, has been a predominant topic in the field of feminist media studies (Baker, 2006, p.1). Through the use of mobile phones, many people have been subjected to unwarranted infringement of personal privacy depending on the gender of the individual and this has led to various studies aimed at investigating how different genders use mobile phones and how the use of these devices has contributed to politically-motivated social history (Hijazi-Omari & Ribak, 2008, p.154). This paper seeks to explore the relationship between the use of mobile phones by teenage girls and the resulting privacy issues. The paper will further focus on the contemporary media practices and how they have influenced different people’s lives depending on their genders. Moreover, the paper will examine the various elements of insecurity applicable in the use of mobile phones and how these pronounce the privacy complexities (Stuart, 2007, p.1). Eavesdroppers, hackers and thieves Despite the conventional privacy belief associated with the use of mobile phones, their use has actually exposed many people to the traps of unintended and self privacy infringing illegal use (Stuart, 2007, p.2). Today, the use of mobile phones has increased to a level that it does not matter where you are or what you are doing but whether your hands are free to hold the handset to your ears for conversation as long as the other person is ready to communicate. The freedom brought by the use of mobile phones has highly influenced the social structures of various communities and even cultures that never used to communicate physically can now access and communicate to the other party devoid of the cultural barriers (McRobbie, 2007, p.720). In this regard, feminist populations in communities that do not allow women to freely mingle with men have been able to freely communicate with their male counterparts without the culturally defined blockages. However, it is imperative to note that the use of mobile phones has also worked to fuel various illegal activities since other people are able to intercept the communication between the users of mobile phones making the communication media vulnerable (Baker, 2006, p.1). Given the frequency of use and the location of the users of mobile phones, eavesdroppers, hackers and thieves have found it easy to access the mobile phone devices and this enables them to plan and execute their illegal acts without the consent of the mobile phone users (Stuart, 2007, p.1). In many occasions people share their experiences and even personal information with the other users of mobile phones without considering their location and whether there are people around them who could use such information for other purposes. Take for example the use of mobile phones in a cyber cafe or even in a foods store. In these places, different people come for different purposes and some people can access other electronic equipments like lap tops and other computer devices (Krotz, 2011, p.2). When an individual either in a line waiting to be served or already enjoying the services of the facility begins to communicate with another person sharing individual experiences and personal information, another person in the same place could easily record the personal information and even schedules and this will aid their planning and execution of illegal acts (Earle, 2010, p.1). Eavesdroppers, hackers and thieves have made the use of mobile phones less private as should be according to the conventional beliefs (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2010, p.2). In this regard, hackers have shown that they don’t actually need the physical mobile devise to track and utilize personal information of the owner of the mobile phone. Consequently, there have been several reported cases of teenagers hacking into celebrity mobile phones and posting such personal information as photos and messages to the internet thereby injuring the personal privacy of the owner of the mobile phone. Teenage girls have also been victims of the lack of privacy in the use of mobile phones and this has significantly influenced the focus of the feminist media studies (Hijazi-Omari & Ribak, 2008, p.160). Cellular phones and radio scanners Depending on an individual’s mobile phone device features, many people have found it easy to stalk and track communication between one mobile phone user and the others using radio scanners and other tracking devices. This practice has exposed the users to illegal malfunctions of the mobile phones thereby infringing their personal privacy. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, mobile phones basically functions through low powered transmitters, which are located in the battery cells of the devices (2011, p.1). These transmitters enable the mobile phone to send radio signals to other devices, which activates the communication channel between one mobile phone and the next. It is in this regard, that other people have illegally altered the radio scanners to focus on tracking and receiving and recording communications between one user of the mobile phone and the next (Jennings, 2009, p.1). This way, the person with the radio scanner will be in a position to explore an individual’s schedules as well as personal information including credit card numbers, location of residence and even property ownership, thereby exposing the user of mobile phones to the threat of invasion by the illegal tracker (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2011, p.1). It is also a common practice for various users of mobile phones to store personal and private information in the memory of their mobile phones (Baker, 2006, p.2). The leak out of such sensitive information including account numbers and other personal information will expose the user of the mobile phone to the risk of intrusion by the user of the radio scanners and/or the allies (Stuart, 2007, p.2). Further, the loss of the mobile device, which is similarly common, will only work to expose such personal information to the recipient and this endangers personal privacy of the original owner of the mobile phone (Earle, 2010, p.1). Additionally, in the contemporary and highly televised business environment various organization stakeholders have also used mobile devices to track the operations of their business and even go further to injure such operations (Detective Private, 2011, p.1). As such, mobile phone users have failed to enjoy the privacy that is generally associated with the use of mobile phones as opposed to the wire telephones (Jennings, 2009, p.2). Cell phones and spyware Technological development especially in the internet domain has also significantly influenced the infringement of personal privacy of the various users of mobile phones (Earle, 2010, p.1). Currently, individuals are free to purchase items from the internet, share the items with others using the internet platform and or collude to infringe specified mobile phone users through the software readily available. The use of spyware, which is readily available on the internet and can easily be downloaded on individual mobile phones, has enabled those with the access to the software to track, record, locate and get to anything happening on the other mobile phone devise of interest (Earle, 2010, p.1). As such teenage girls have been exposed to undue monitoring from either their parents or their guardians who seek to assess their social capabilities. This in essence influences the social operations of the teenage girls and thus significantly contributes to the infringement of the teenage girls’ personal life (Hijazi-Omari & Ribak, 2008, 149). Such software will also enable the users to access other classified information about the mobile phone users and this will highly lead to the violation of the mobile phone user’s privacy (Earle, 2010, p.1). In this regard, the user of the spyware will be technologically capable of controlling the communicability of the mobile phone under his watch. This is possible due to the fact that the spyware platform enables the user to access either through the use of radio scanners or through an inbuilt system, other mobile devices within the range and thus can categorize a system of clients to violate their privacies (Krotz, 2011, p.2). Summary and Recommendations In conclusion, given the above discoveries and the prevailing vulnerability of the feminist populations of many societies across the globe, people especially the youth should employ various strategies to ensure that they maintain their privacy regarding how they use their mobile phone devises. In addition, it is imperative for mobile phone users to understand that it takes some relevant and personalized cell phone etiquette for one to remain safe as far as mobile phone privacy is concerned. In this regard, people should avoid answering mobile calls while in public places and/or maintain a reasonable distance from any other person while conversing on the mobile phone. This will reduce the risk of eavesdroppers accessing your communication. Bibliography Baker, B. 2006. The Cellular Soap Opera: Mobile Phone Calls Aren’t As Private as Some Believe. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Detective Private. 2011. Why Pay a Private Investigator to Spy Cell Phone Calls When You Can Do It Yourself. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Earle, R. 2010. Private Cell Phone Conversations Not So Private After All. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Hijazi-Omari, H. & Ribak, R. 2008. Playing With Fire: On the Domestication of the Mobile Phone Among Palestinian Teenage Girls in Israel. Information, Technology and Society. 11:2, 149 – 166. Jennings, R. 2009. Think Your Cell Phone Call is Private? Think Again! Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Krotz, J. L. 2011. Cell Phone Etiquette: 10 Dos and Don’ts. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. McRobbie, A. 2007. “Top Girls?” Cultural Studies. 21:4, 718 – 737. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. 2011. Wireless Communications: Voice and Data Privacy. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. 2010. Wiretapping and Eavesdropping on Telephone Calls. Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Stuart, A. 2007. Are Your Cell Phone Conversations Secure? Available at: [Accessed October 21st 2011]. Read More