The Public Life of Private People
The digital world has blurred the boundaries between public and private life. From social media posts and location-tracking apps to photographs and personal opinions, our everyday digital interactions can expose more about us than we realise. Is privacy becoming a thing of the past?
With the ever-expanding scope of telecommunications and the need to interact in an otherwise world of tenuous relationships, personal privacy or ‘being private,’ is a question mark and tenuous too.
There is a lot of hullabaloo about privacy, but in an increasingly interconnected world, even the common person can track another.
It is not just that. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other social media, you can vent your feelings, opinions, and thoughts, exposing your innermost feelings to others. Some do it inadvertently, and some do it emotionally (and regret it later). We often see people get into trouble.
Videos posted on otherwise private occasions can embarrass many and lead to serious repercussions. Even photographs casually uploaded from your smartphone can be embarrassing too. Relationships get spoiled, lives shattered and emotions turmoil. All this has implications for both your personal and professional life.
Otherwise fun apps like Maps, FB etc will identify you in places where you ought not to be! Imagine being in Chennai when you ought to be in Bangalore. Your boss would feel agitated when you are supposed to be sick but he catches you in Goa. Or how your girlfriend will feel that instead of taking her out you with the boys (or the girls) in a happening night spot!
Your competition can keep track of you, study your travel plan and arrive at what your plans are. And the rate data is being analyzed, don’t be surprised if they catch up with you. On and yes! Suspicious ‘others’ can also keep track of you.
The lines between private and public lives are blurring. While physical interaction between people get limited the virtual aspect is increasing. The results are just manifesting.
