Participant Spotlight: Ryan Kim
We are excited to share an essay from SEUT Essay Challenge participant Ryan Kim, a student at Glenbrook North High School. In his essay, Ryan unpacks how everyday tech, from Apple CarPlay to Google Maps, quietly tracks our movements and habits. What begins as a harmless “2 minutes to home” notification reveals a deeper tradeoff: the comfort of personalization versus the loss of control over our own data. Drawing on personal experiences and observations, Ryan calls on students, schools, and tech companies to build a culture of awareness where convenience doesn’t mean sacrificing privacy.
You can read Ryan’s essay below:
After my water polo practice, I get into my car and head home from school. As I sit in the driver’s seat and plug my phone into Apple CarPlay, a very familiar notification on my phone welcomes me, saying, “2 minutes to home”. My phone automatically suggests the most efficient route to the place where I usually go after the practice. At first thought, this is incredibly handy. I don't have to input my destination or worry about directions—my phone already has that information. But then I wondered: "How does my phone know where I am and where I'm going?
This harmless feature is one component of a much broader issue – data tracking and privacy invasion. What happened in my car is only a small representation of the way technology watches and understands what I'm doing.
My phone’s GPS tracks me wherever I go. It tracks where I am heading, and how often I have headed that way. Using this data, my phone can predict where I am heading, like when I leave school, when I get home, and when I head to my work. Even if it is handy, it is disturbing because this information does not sit on my phone. It's typically warehoused, examined, and perhaps shared with third parties like data brokers and advertisers.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that to use these features, it costs my privacy. Every time I check Google Maps history or log in to Snapchat, my location data is collected and used to create a virtual profile of me. This profile doesn't merely mean where I head, but it indicates what I'm looking for, what I'm buying, and even what I like. These companies then use this data to sell me ads, affect my choices, and even occasionally sell my information without asking.
I didn't realize just how intrusive this data gathering was until a chat with my friend, Jake. He had once described to me how he had gone looking online for a new pair of shoes and then, shortly after, began seeing ads on Instagram and YouTube for the very same shoes. Jake was surprised at how quickly the ads appeared, but what surprised him even more was that the ads did not stop there. A few days later, he began receiving email offers from businesses he had never even subscribed to. His online activities were tracked, analyzed, and shared across platforms.
Similarly, I experienced something that made me more vigilant about data privacy. After I had been to a nearby cafe several times, I began receiving recommendations for other cafes in the region. I hadn't searched for these places on the internet or mentioned them to anyone. Nevertheless, my phone had started learning in the background a pattern based on my location data and was now making inferences about where I'd go next. That was when I realized—my phone knew my routine better than I liked.
For high school students like me, data tracking is more concerning because we’re always connected. Whether we watch videos on Instagram or listen to music on Spotify, we leave a digital footprint. Many of my friends don’t understand how much data they give away. We prioritize our convenience over privacy. We agree to the terms and conditions without reading them and grant apps access to our privacy.
Furthermore, high school students are typically more vulnerable to online content and targeted advertisements on the web. Algorithms essentially keep us addicted by showing us things we're interested in, but while doing so, we're being subtly manipulated without our awareness. This unawareness creates a cycle of viciousness where data privacy is no longer a priority, and we essentially transfer even greater control to businesses in our lives.
Once I became sensitive to the extent of data tracking in my own life, I started making active changes to protect my information. I turned off location services on most apps and only permit it when needed, like using navigation apps. I also reviewed the privacy options on my social networking sites to limit who gets to see my information and whereabouts.
Also, I've begun using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to introduce a further security feature when connecting through public Wi-Fi, stopping hackers from capturing my information. I now more often clear out my browser history and cookies so websites can't trace my activities. These tiny habits help me to avoid leaving digital footprints.
Additionally, Organizations, communities, and schools have an important role in raising awareness of data privacy. Schools can have digital privacy programs that teach students how to maintain privacy. These programs can include courses on information privacy policies and recognizing scams. Libraries and community centers can offer free cybersecurity workshops. These can help both students and parents to understand how to keep personal information safe. Technology companies also have a responsibility to prioritize users’ privacy on their platforms and show clear information about data usage.
Technology has provided us with convenience, but it is easy to forget the cost of it. My experience has shown me just how transparent we are to online tracking. Technology is constantly evolving, and it is our responsibility to take back our data and be intelligent about giving out our information. Through learning ourselves and educating others, and through a culture of awareness, we can ensure convenience is not purchased at the cost of our privacy.
