We’re Not Anonymous Anymore. So Lighten Up!
Posted: December 4th, 2008 | Author: mark | Filed under: Web 2.0 | Tags: facebook, online anonymity, social networking, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »It is not a secret, your private life might just not be so secret anymore.
Remember the nosy old lady who lived down your street when you were young? The one who told your parents she saw you somewhere, or doing something, you shouldn’t have been? Well it appears she just went cyber.
Thanks to web 2.0 and the social web, our personal data is pretty easily accessible. Moreover, thanks to facebook and the likes, another side of us is now also exposed to the the whole world. Now everyone can see our least flattering pictures and drunken antics. We just can’t guarantee that we can stay anonymous anymore. Even if you think you can, I’m sure there’s at least something that can be found about you on Google.
So this brings up some questions:
- Is it ethical for a HR person to check up on potential employees? If the information is there, why not?
- Do employers have to realise that they are not going to be able to find a squeaky clean person who hasn’t gotten a bit too drunk from time to time and had pictures of them plastered all over facebook?
- How about insurance companies? Might they increase your premium after they see your sky diving holidays and random trips to conflict zones?
- What other implications are there for losing your anonymity? Psychological (loss of real identity?), social (family jealous that you’re spending too much time with friends?), legal? (can evidence be used in a court of law?).
Or do we all just need to lighten up and accept each other for who we are? Humans after all.
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Very interesting. It is generally the opposite what we think these days (Big Brother is Watching You). But can we really lighten up? It is easy to point fingers at others and laugh. Maybe some cultures might tolerate some amount of dirt found, but not all cultures I suppose.
Interesting comment. I think this year’s Edison Chen scandal in Hong Kong might be of relevance to the cultural aspect. As far as I gather, if the same series of things happened to a famous person in Hollywood nobody would have batted an eyelid.