I had a minor car accident with a young woman a few weeks ago, after which we exchanged names and phone numbers. When I was told by my insurance company that she hadn't filed a report, I conducted an internet search of her name on Google and was astonished by how much information I had access to without even knowing her. I found names and addresses of her parents, siblings and cousins as well as video footage of family gatherings, her college graduation and several pages of family photographs. Additionally, I learned her professional background and the name of her current employer. Most troubling was that I was able to find a link to a page with her work schedule for the next 60 days. I felt shocked and concerned by how easy it has become to find detailed information about a stranger.
As I examined the information I found about the woman from the car accident, I thought of my own children, currently ages five, seven and nine. I wondered what the information trail following them will look like when they are her age. As technology advances, our personal, professional and national privacy is eroded at an alarming rate. Social networking and file sharing sites are increasing the default exposure accounts receive while making privacy settings more complicated and harder to use. Many feel that as soon as we take action to protect what's left of our privacy, a new technology arises which exposes our personal information again. It is absolutely critical for parents to keep open lines of communication with their children about internet privacy. Instead of expecting your privacy to be upheld, expect that it will be compromised. It is imperative that we take a moral inventory of our behavior and work toward making peace with inevitable transparency. When we hide aspects of our lives from our loved ones, our peers and ourselves, we really need to examine our reasons for doing so.
The loss of privacy evokes fear and uncertainty for most, as our society regards it as a basic right. Specific fear-------However, as our lives become more visible, our social behavioral standards are changing. As we become more intimately familiar with how our peers behave in reality, we begin to have more realistic expectations of each other and ourselves. Because the internet is a global forum for the exchange of ideas, people are coming to define their personal identity as it relates a global society, not just their immediate community . An Example? Or not. Citizens in a more transparent society are more accountable to its shared moral and ethical standards, and less responsible for maintaining behavior that is unrealistic or ingenuine.
This subject has permeated the news media lately. Married Congressman Chris Lee suffered public humiliation and resigned within hours of being caught emailing sexually suggestive photos in to a Washington D.C. woman last week. Wikileaks guy Nobel Prize, Former President George W. Bush boycotted a the young Presidents Club COnventino in Denver after..., of Wikileaks was invited to speak via electronic conference. In February, baby born in Egypt was named "Facebook," in honor of the site after protesters used it to inform the masses and organize the revolution of January 25, 2011.
As I examined the information I found about the woman from the car accident, I thought of my own children, currently ages five, seven and nine. I wondered what the information trail following them will look like when they are her age. As technology advances, our personal, professional and national privacy is eroded at an alarming rate. Social networking and file sharing sites are increasing the default exposure accounts receive while making privacy settings more complicated and harder to use. Many feel that as soon as we take action to protect what's left of our privacy, a new technology arises which exposes our personal information again. It is absolutely critical for parents to keep open lines of communication with their children about internet privacy. Instead of expecting your privacy to be upheld, expect that it will be compromised. It is imperative that we take a moral inventory of our behavior and work toward making peace with inevitable transparency. When we hide aspects of our lives from our loved ones, our peers and ourselves, we really need to examine our reasons for doing so.
The loss of privacy evokes fear and uncertainty for most, as our society regards it as a basic right. Specific fear-------However, as our lives become more visible, our social behavioral standards are changing. As we become more intimately familiar with how our peers behave in reality, we begin to have more realistic expectations of each other and ourselves. Because the internet is a global forum for the exchange of ideas, people are coming to define their personal identity as it relates a global society, not just their immediate community . An Example? Or not. Citizens in a more transparent society are more accountable to its shared moral and ethical standards, and less responsible for maintaining behavior that is unrealistic or ingenuine.
This subject has permeated the news media lately. Married Congressman Chris Lee suffered public humiliation and resigned within hours of being caught emailing sexually suggestive photos in to a Washington D.C. woman last week. Wikileaks guy Nobel Prize, Former President George W. Bush boycotted a the young Presidents Club COnventino in Denver after..., of Wikileaks was invited to speak via electronic conference. In February, baby born in Egypt was named "Facebook," in honor of the site after protesters used it to inform the masses and organize the revolution of January 25, 2011.
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