How Online Privacy Issues affects our Mental Health

Imagine happily strolling in the woods with your family, enjoying picturesque landscapes and exploring life, then suddenly your phone vibrates calling for attention, you look at it and you have an email inside there is a notice from the bank that all your finances have been credited! yes shocking and very dizzying but it does happen with individuals every now and then, stealing information and bank details, going bankrupt, and so forth, and they generally wouldn't have any clue or any way of knowing exactly what source was behind the finances and information that has been compromised.

Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD disorders are the hidden signs that also should be uncovered in the age of epidemic in which Online privacy breaches are playing a significant role in triggering them.

According to Cybercrime Associate at University of Cambridge Dr. Maria Bada "The psychological effects of cyber-attacks may even rival those of traditional terrorism"

Why Is There A Growing Concern Of Privacy Online 

The Internet is the primary fundamental environment for the informational privacy of users, as this is where most information is transferred, collected, and stored. Privacy concerns are inherent to the process of using the Internet because users’ personal information can be continuously shared, both passively and actively, as they browse. 

For example, Cookies, are designed for tracking and recording users who frequently visited websites. That information is generally used to generate suggested search results and can be sold to corporations for creating specifically targeted ads. However, the same data can also be easily accessed or even hacked by a malicious entity. Ubiquitous quality of online data-sharing, most research around privacy concerns have tended to focus on users’ attitudes and behavior because their personal information is acquired, collected, stored, and used by companies and organizations

Digital marketing experts estimated 4000-10,000 ads are being exposed to an average American each day according to forbes.com

Today’s globally networked society inculcates the great demands on the collection and sharing of person-specific data for many new uses. These service provider entities—hospitals, banks, and social networking sites, often describe the need to record person-specific records in such a way that the identities of their users can be determined.

It’s a nightmarish thing of clearing your name and credit history or the annoying struggle to get credit or loans, housing, employment, or medical services after a breach. Victims usually wrestle with feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability. Their sleep can be disrupted, energy levels gets hindered. Self-medication with alcohol, drugs, or food is another horror story. Then comes the aftereffects that can be more severe than others: bouts of depression, stress, and anxiety, etc.

Coping Strategies If You Face CyberCrime

Talk About It

Surround yourself with people who can support you whenever you face these kinds of situations talk yourself out take the help of a friend and a family member. 

Don’t Blame Yourself 

Depending on the type and level of breach you have faced, the victim can go through many stages of grief, and can even result in extremities, in some stages they may even blame themselves and can abuse the people they love, or even develop a sense of shame. A loss and grief for some time is okay but blaming yourself and others is not a solution. 

Stop Deleting Apps

 It's a personal preference but factually deleting applications again and again will do you no good, because on one hand if apps are bad they also have some good as Facebook gives you birthday reminders, LinkedIn is probably good for your career(at least that what people says), Twitter is a good social networking site to share your fleeting thoughts, no the answer lies in properly authenticating your information. Several applications now serve the two or three-step privacy authentication systems. 

Remember to keep your privacy as max as possible. This will make you feel less miserable and more protected from future uncertainties.

Take Help Of Anti-Virus & Effective PC Optimizer 

Minimizing your social media presence is also another option but many users had to be online every day say to website shopping or any other thing, Do all of these by ensuring that your Antivirus is working and by using software that prevents privacy tracking and offers services that are pro-privacy. One such program is IGS Cleaner who serves as the role of Multifunctional PC Cleaner, best at eliminating all privacy tracking records and doing all the functions to keep your mental health at peace.