More people today put their personal and private information online (address, telephone number, credit card number) to do everyday activities such as banking, shopping, and socializing. Is this a positive or negative development?
This trend, while bringing minor convenience to daily life, is overall a negative development due to the severe, irreversible risks it poses to personal safety, financial security and long-term privacy.
Admittedly, submitting personal information online streamlines daily routines to some extent. For instance, saving delivery addresses and phone numbers on e-commerce platforms saves users from repeatedly typing these details for each order, and stored credit card information cuts short the payment process for online banking or bill settlement. However, these trivial gains in efficiency are far outweighed by the downsides.
The most pressing risk is financial loss caused by data breaches. Many commercial platforms fail to invest enough in robust cybersecurity systems, making stored credit card details and billing addresses easy targets for hackers. I once experienced this: a small shopping app I registered for leaked my phone number and partial payment information, leading to three fraudulent deduction attempts on my bank card within a week, which took me nearly two months to resolve with the bank. Worse, such information leaks may even threaten physical safety: there are frequent reports of criminals obtaining victims’ home addresses from social media check-ins, leading to stalking or burglary.
Additionally, once private information is uploaded online, it can hardly be permanently erased, and is often misused for targeted fraud or endless commercial harassment. Many people in China report receiving dozens of scam calls a month after leaving their phone numbers on unregulated online sites, with fraudsters using their leaked personal details to gain trust and trick them into transferring money.
In conclusion, given the serious risks to property and personal security, putting personal private information online is a negative trend overall, and the limited convenience it brings cannot justify its potential harms.