Question: Why You In My Kool-Aid?
A week ago, I was in a store when I heard a girl jibber-jabbering into her phone. I tried not to eavesdrop, but it was kinda impossible given her volume.
"What? How can she be mad that I told him?"
Pause. Then laughter.
"You can't be serious. It's 2011. No one has privacy anymore. Get real."
I froze. Shivered. The statement was said with such flippant irreverance. And I feared the words held a bit of truth.
In the past, celebrities were the only people who placed their privacy on the proverbial altar. "It's part of the gig if you want the big bucks," journalist and laypeople have said in order to justify actions. But I always wondered, Is it? They agree to be in movies. They agree to play a sport. They don't agree to have strangers take pictures of their children. They don't agree to have people interrupt a family dinner. This is one of the reasons I don't approach celebrities when I see them. They deserve privacy.
It seems that the idea of "your buisness is my business," is slipping down to . . . well, everyone.
When I was in graduate school, several of my classmates had clients find their address and personal email. My classmates would show up at parties and see a client, supposedly s/he had just become friends with the hostess. One classmate was on a date when a client came over and essentially waited to be introduced. Yes, as a psychologist, I am exposed to the . . . socially awkward, for lack of a better euphemism. Nonetheless, as I watched my friends have a real life, What About Bob? movie experience, I decided I would always have an unlisted phone number and address.
In the day of the internet, however, people can find ANYTHING. People get on the internet and share WAY too much. Friends post pictures of their friends without thought. If you see a picture of my friends on my site, I have asked EVERYONE for permission. Maybe my actions are the result of being a psychologist, another word for secret keeper. Maybe it's just my personality. I've never been big on gossip. Whatever the reason, I believe in privacy. Do others? I know the American public has willingly given away some of our privacy, fear guiding our votes in some elections. But is all of it gone? Really?
Do we live in a world where we no longer value a person's privacy?
"What? How can she be mad that I told him?"
Pause. Then laughter.
"You can't be serious. It's 2011. No one has privacy anymore. Get real."
I froze. Shivered. The statement was said with such flippant irreverance. And I feared the words held a bit of truth.
In the past, celebrities were the only people who placed their privacy on the proverbial altar. "It's part of the gig if you want the big bucks," journalist and laypeople have said in order to justify actions. But I always wondered, Is it? They agree to be in movies. They agree to play a sport. They don't agree to have strangers take pictures of their children. They don't agree to have people interrupt a family dinner. This is one of the reasons I don't approach celebrities when I see them. They deserve privacy.
It seems that the idea of "your buisness is my business," is slipping down to . . . well, everyone.
When I was in graduate school, several of my classmates had clients find their address and personal email. My classmates would show up at parties and see a client, supposedly s/he had just become friends with the hostess. One classmate was on a date when a client came over and essentially waited to be introduced. Yes, as a psychologist, I am exposed to the . . . socially awkward, for lack of a better euphemism. Nonetheless, as I watched my friends have a real life, What About Bob? movie experience, I decided I would always have an unlisted phone number and address.
In the day of the internet, however, people can find ANYTHING. People get on the internet and share WAY too much. Friends post pictures of their friends without thought. If you see a picture of my friends on my site, I have asked EVERYONE for permission. Maybe my actions are the result of being a psychologist, another word for secret keeper. Maybe it's just my personality. I've never been big on gossip. Whatever the reason, I believe in privacy. Do others? I know the American public has willingly given away some of our privacy, fear guiding our votes in some elections. But is all of it gone? Really?
Do we live in a world where we no longer value a person's privacy?