Facebook privacy is something I have been banging on and on and on about
for years.
There
is an entire generation growing up in an online spotlight. A
generation that doesn't think twice about a form asking for their
address and phone number along with their "status." A generation that
is quite happy with location based tracking of each other on their
mobile phones (the feature is even a part of some mobile phone
advertising.)
This is a generation of over sharers. Those born
in the 80s and 90s are not going to be the "me" generation. They're
going to be the "hey look at me here and here and here" generation.
And
not that there's anything wrong with that. The spirit of the web is
all about sharing. It's about doing good for the good of the
community. Offering insight where you have it, helping solve problems
where you can and sharing information.
That's all well and
good, but if self-imposed limits are not placed on the propensity to
share, consequences will soon follow. Imagine the entire world leaving
their cars and homes and hard drives unlocked - someone would be
robbed, raped or murdered. It's unfortunate, but it would happen.
That's what, in essence, oversharing can do. You dole out so much
personal information that eventually it will fall under control of
someone who does not have the spirit of the web at heart.
In remarks to students across America this week,
President Obama addressed the issue of oversharing.
“Well, let me give you some very practical tips. First of all, I want
everybody here to be careful about what you post on Facebook, because
in the YouTube age, whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later
somewhere in your life… And when you’re young, you make mistakes and
you do some stupid stuff. And I’ve been hearing a lot about young
people who — you know, they’re posting stuff on Facebook, and then
suddenly they go apply for a job and somebody has done a search.”
[source]
The
best rule of thumb always remains: only put on the internet what you'd
want your mom to see. Or as Gillian Shaw of The Vancouver Sun once
told me, "only put online what you'd expect to find on the front page
of the newspaper."
catch the buzz ... pass it on.
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