In today’s era, cyberspace has become one of the most favorable place to expand your network. Websites like My Space (myspace.com) or friendster (friendster.com) provide internet users a medium to “socialize”. Users may unconsciously reveal some information that they will not reveal in Face-to-Face (FtF).
According to Rosen (2004), “…the easiest way to attract the attention and winning the trust of the strangers is to establish an emotional connection with them by projecting a consistent, memorable, and trustworthy image.” Is it worth? What I meant here, some people may reveal whatever information needed to gain the acknowledgement from strangers to become their friend. Take this privacy policy from my space (myspace.com):
MySpace.com collects user submitted information such as name, email address, and age to authenticate users and to send notifications to those users relating to the MySpace.com service. MySpace.com also collects other profile data including but not limited to: personal interests, gender, age, education and occupation in order to assist users in finding and communicating with each other.
MySpace.com also logs non-personally-identifiable information including IP address, profile information, aggregate user data, and browser type, from users and visitors to the site This data is used to manage the website, track usage and improve the website services. This non-personally-identifiable information may be shared with third-parties to provide more relevant services and advertisements to members. User IP addresses are recorded for security and monitoring purposes
We may reveal such information due to our need to find a friend. Some people may reveal even more than that. Do we really need to reveal such information meanwhile we do not know who read it and that they gonna do about it. But it’s like health: When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it (Sullivan, 2006).
One’s may feel certain emotional attachment by reading your personal information that has been published in the internet. But, can you really trust that stranger. Sure, you can read his/ her personal information in return. But can you guarantee that it is authentic. Is the stranger being sincere about himself?
Privacy in cyberspace is one of the most difficult things to be taken care of. Just click your name is search engine and voila there appear your name. What you may think the safest may be the dangerous think for you.
Yes, you want the freedom of speech, but we all must know the limitation of our information that can be revealed. Too much information revealed will be to dangerous, too little information is not enough.
My opinion about today’s networking is the boundary between privacy and public information start to fade out. What we all known as personal information in the past has become information that easy to get. Blog for example, has become the most popular medium to self revealing. As you can read in the internet, what you wouldn’t know through FtF communication can be found easily. Some people use blog to seek emotional support. When you feel down, you write. When you are happy, you write. People who keep in track with your blog may know and feel certain bond even you haven’t met them. This thing really sounds creepy for me, that is why I do not like to set up a blog. I prefer to write in book and face a small chance of being exposed rather than receiving a lot of comment for what I felt.
Like one of my friend, Susan (not her real name), she like to write her daily activity, what she felt, and load some picture in her blog. Well, she must not realize that how much information she has released without knowing there might be somebody using her information for something bad.
My picture, from my blog, has been used as a class’s web link without my knowledge by my teacher. I do not mind though, but I would prefer to be informed first. What I want to say at here is even a picture that you put for fun, can be used for something else without you knowing it.
ps: no offense for the last paragraph, just want to use it as example. peace! :D
Refernces:
Privacy Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved on 9th March 2007, from http://www.myspace.com/Modules/Common/Pages/Privacy.aspx
Rosen, J. (2004). "The Naked Crowd". Retrieved on 9th March, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm
Sullivan, B. (2006) “Privacy lost: does anybody care? MSNBC Interactive. Retrieved on 9th March 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/
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