heads down bottoms up: rethinking the definition of privacy

heads down bottoms up

This new skin brings about a fresh new beginning, a change, reminding us the importance of looking at things from another perspective so that we may learn to understand and accept all that we see for not what they appear to be, but what they truly are.

Wednesday

rethinking the definition of privacy

Have you ever paused half way through a deep and meaningful and have a good look at who you are actually speaking to? Until today, i haven't. I've realised how strange it is that i feel so free in expressing the deepest of my thoughts to friends, workmates, and even strangers, but not to my parents. It's not 'cause we're not close or anything. They're loving, caring and understanding, but i simply refuse to sit down and let them know what really goes through my mind. In fact, it has come to the extent where i can confidently claim that my friends probably know me better than my family in some respect. Sad, but i assume it's one of those phases a teenager goes through. Now is a perfect example. As i hit the publish button on the post, i am sharing my thoughts to potentially millions of people out there, millions of strangers, but i do not hesitate for a second.

We are currently in an era of advancing technology, and as we become more and more tolerant of online openness, we witness a shift in attitudes and a rethinking of what we consider private. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Blogger et cetera are interconnecting millions and millions of people around the globe, converting what is a big world into a small one. We meet friends of friends of friends over instant messenging, read and leave comments on stranger's blog.

As newspapers report more stories about students being kicked out of their courses and bloggers being sacked because of their online revelations, users like us, might well feel compelled to tighten up on our online privacy and reconsider the issues we blog about. However, what we witness is the complete opposite. Blog posts are becoming more and more personal, with random people openly revealing their work, family, school and sex life, sexual orientations, photos of their bodies, drugs, and alcohol usage. It may even be wise if detectives consider investing in a blogosphere unit, where they examine suspects' blogs and read about how they grow their weeds, what drugs they use and how they traffic it. If only such personal information can be presented as reliable evidence in the face of the judge in court.

Obviously, we are not as naive to believe everything we read. Some are true and others are a load bullshit, but that doesn't matter anymore in today's society. With such rapidly advancing technology, the line separating what is real and what is virtual is gradually fading. Who cares whether or not the blog we are reading is true or a figment of someone's imagination, it's simply another form of entertainment.

posted by sciurine @ 9:54 PM

4 Comments:

At 1:10 PM, Unknown said…

Firs tblog I've read in ages to the end really enjoyed it cheers :)

I think I got here via Michele's

;)
At 5:23 PM, sciurine said…

Hi oracle, thanks for coming by and leaving a comment. I'm glad u enjoyed reading it =)

Cheers,

~sciurine
At 5:45 PM, gneake said…

nice job here. glad to see progress.

however, one cannot deny the undertone of resentment towards technology here. is this true?
At 12:28 PM, sciurine said…

Thanks.

Hmm..no, i wouldn't say resentment towards technology. I mean, you know i'll struggle to survive without the computer for a day. It's simply my view on how since starting this blog, i've tended to progressively post more private and personal stuff up without hesitating. Just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me in later years, i guess.