Personal Info Everywhere.

"Pretty soon just about every scrap of personal data will be stored on a computer and available via by the Internet. How do you feel about this? Describe the benefits and the dangers of having your information stored this way."

It's true, we're close. As a matter of fact, Americans do have pretty much all of their lives on a computer. Government agencies, the IRS for example, has all individuals' wage and tax information as we speak. I called the IRS one year about my taxes (waited on hold for 30 minutes, I don't recommend it), and to verify I was in fact who I said I was, they were asking me questions about my past that even I had forgotten. They knew where I worked in 2002, they knew my previous addresses, etc. Our banking and bill payment information is almost always available online. To pay a bill, just visit the website, log in and fill out your payment information. When a police officer pulls you over, you give him your license and he punches the information into his computer. These are advantages, obviously. The fact that a police officer can quickly learn whether you're a wanted criminal and the fact that the IRS has organized information to more speedily assist their callers are extremely advantageous. Can you imagine the paperwork that the IRS must have dealt with before computers? Granted, more jobs would be available, but everything runs so much more smoothly now.

That brings up the other perspective - the negative side. Apart from the fact that there are many less office clerks in the world since the development of this technology, having all one's information on a computer somewhere can be extremely dangerous. Many people have hacking capablities and that makes everyone's personal information vulnerable. As a matter of fact identity theft is a common problem these days. Everyone's extremely private information like birthdays, social security numbers, credit card numbers is available to many more people, right there on a computer

All in all, I think life on a computer is a good thing. The development of computers and the internet has made day to day life much easier and simpler. I think that we need to continue to develop ways to keep it private, because that is something on everyone's mind.