What happened to the expectation that people had a right to privacy? The neighbor peering over the back fence was the only one who might know your personal business, unless she chose to share it with someone.
Nowadays in America, every movement in a public place is tracked. Security cameras record when I go to the grocery store (Safeway's camera's are the most flattering), when I take money out at an ATM, when I pump gas, when I run a red light-- not that I ever would.
Beyond the loss of privacy in the name of security is the amount of infomation on the internet. I try to be pretty careful about what I write in my blog, but it wouldn't be too hard, if someone wanted to, to piece together my life using the power of the web... how I spend my time, how many kids I have and how old they are, where I live.
I used to write little stories about people I spend time with, but I'm so jittery about having too much information about myself out there, I don't want to subject anyone else to scrutiny. Some people, I know, don't mind. Some of my friends have their pictures, their addresses and their moment-by-moment activities posted on web communities like myspace and facebook. But others would rather just be left in peace. Cyber bullies, flaming, identity theft... the scope of how people can be hurt just seems to grow.
Among friends, should there be an assumption of confidentiality? Or are we beyond that? Does being a citizen of the world dictate that everything is your life is fair game to bloggers, cell phone cameras, and the whims of anyone with internet access?
1 comment:
I say the Golden Rule still applies and even if we only have control over own actions then we still have the obligation to ourself and others to make those actions honorable.
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