Privacy in the Tech-Filled World

Once upon a time there was privacy. It was an act that respected your right to exist in your own space, without prying eyes and everyone’s invading opinions. You were not expected to give justification as to why and how you did what you did.

But today, this is a fading trend toppled by our absorption with self. Yes folks. We are talking about the now ghastly and despicable phenomenon: unbounded transparency.

Unbounded Transparency

Think about it. Why should you keep your most private thoughts and act private? Especially now that many people would be interested in what your last meal consisted of, where you are hanging out and all your important decisions about your foot wear, underwear, and the color of your contact lenses.

How about the gripping interest your abs, well-toned arms, and duck face have on a world grappling with climate change, intolerance, war and famine? Nauseating as the levels of self-absorption have become, they tell of a far more sinister story than we like to acknowledge: Self is number one and we will do anything for the spotlight. We no longer recognize nor respect privacy, our own or other peoples. 

Deindividualization

Proponents of deindividualization (as the trend of putting everything about ourselves out there is known as) like to cite how in ancient times community came before self and one did not belong to themselves but to their society. Every aspect of life was lived in the public eye.

However, boundaries abounded and kept everyone in check. For example, nudity, even in cultures that showed copious amount of skin, was never a self-exhibitionist endeavor unlike what we see today on social media and other online platforms.

Child birth was a communal affair, however, only women were in attendance and the process was not broadcast for the entire community to see. But that is long gone. The concept of a global village has indeed overtaken and replaced our societal morals and sensibilities. We define ourselves by the hits and likes we get from exhibiting ourselves and sometimes even our families including children on social media sites.

For many, their greatest aspiration has become being a social media star. One wonders whether a stranger’s approval of you or your family defines you as a person. What if they don’t approve. Will that set you down the path of self hate?

Subject of Debate

Let us paint a picture to illustrate the death of privacy. Imagine waking up in the morning to the aroma of fresh coffee. You throw off the covers and begin to document your day to feed the curiosity of your ever interested followers on Instagram and Snapchat. To do that, you have bought yourself one of those intelligent self-following drones .

Usually, the drone is constantly on a follow me mode. So each of your every action gets dissected by people all over the world. Well, this is a subject of debate and there will always be two different sides to all this: the good and the bad. Some do it for the right reasons while others for all the wrong reasons.

But the truth is that the media and the phenomenon of self chronicolization go hand in hand. Both mediums are powerful in their own right and feed off each other. Unfortunately, they blatantly disregard the need to keep a certain amount of information about yourself to yourself.

So the result is an entitled population that sees nothing wrong with cyber stalking and recording very personal and private moments. Worse still are the lonely people on the inside with millions of followers on social media pacifying their thirst for real relationships.