I cannot believe it’s been thirteen years since Sun
Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy declared ‘You have zero privacy
anyway. Get over it’. I tend to think it’s the much more recent Facebook that
has ‘unfriended’ our privacy, while forgetting that we’ve been gleefully
handing over our most personal information for years.
We think we’re in control while we’re surfing the net in the
privacy of our own homes, but we don’t understand quite how big our cyber
footprints really are. Marketing companies no longer have to pay big dollars to
collect our information as we conveniently serve it all up to them while we
hang out with our friends online. That’s bad enough, but worse is when we cast
ourselves as victims bemoaning the lack of laws to protect our privacy.
Unfortunately, you don’t need to be Kate Middleton to find
your most private moments circulating around the world. In a recent scandal,
photo sharing site Photobucket was hacked with private images stolen and
distributed widely online. Suddenly, ordinary people got an unexpected glimpse
of the celebrity fishbowl world that Prince Harry inhabits as their explicit
photos were online for all to see. (Anyone for a game of strip billiards?)
However, the difference here is that Photobucket users published their own
images, naively trusting in the security of the online world.
However, it seems that society is changing along with
technology. America’s notoriously wild Spring Break is now a shadow of its
former self, as college students realise it’s easier to avoid embarrassing
situations than it is to dodge embarrassing photos. Students are drinking less
and keeping their clothes on as they protect their online reputations and
future career options – who knew students could be so smart?
I like to think I’m pretty clued-up about privacy but maybe
it’s time to rethink what I share online. I mean, do I really want to explain
to future generations quite what Grandma was doing at Glenelg on New Year’s Eve?
Let’s face it, just because you can upload it, doesn’t mean
you should!
