Social Networks & Privacy
The Internet has for a considerable significant period been the acid test of ‘freedom of speech.’ But at what price to large numbers of unworldly citizens? Sometimes celebrities are the objects of Internet video stings that are rapidly propagated all over the globe by means of sites like YouTube, whose hyperlinks are easily advertised on social network profiles such as MySpace and Facebook. But just as frequently, celebrities are made by the broadcasting of private videos of everyday individuals, which are then emailed and blogged and thus spread like wildfire to the four corners of the world. The infamy which results from many of these tapes or photos being piped through so easily can be mortifying to the individuals who are exploited by their being passed around. But who is to be called to account? A person can’t be held accountable merely for passing onward an email or posting a public link to their Facebook profile.
The Internet and social networking sites are merely a more with the times medium through which the diffusion of information has been made easier. Unfortunately, or fortunately, calling on every citizen with access to a computer a qualified reporter with the ability to reach large numbers of audiences the globe over. So it is not the social networks that are to be answerable for this invasion of privacy, but the community at large itself. Social tradition flourishes on the passing around of gossip and information sharing. So long as you are not the subject, you have no objections passing on that humiliating video of a poor boy cavorting around his home making believe to be a rebel fighter from Star Wars (The young man is at present in therapy and has dropped out of on his education, on the off chance that you were wondering). Websites such as TMZ.com survive only because of human longing for salacious trash and celebrity gossip.
In the same way, we must be aware of the Internet’s limitlessness, and the nonviability of control over its material. In this day and age, one must be aware that one’s actions could be broadcast instantly. With digital cameras, mobiles with video capability and instant access to YouTube and Facebook, your actions could be disseminated to your friends and strangers equally well live-action. We need to redefine what is private and what is fair game, as it is no longer prudent to assume that all we do will remain in our hands. Modern methods have a trajectory of their own, and the Internet is a prime example something that can quietly slip away from its intended use and obtain many more purposes as long as the multitudes encourage it.