Privacy

The notion of privacy and social media is one which is prevalent within society today. What is privacy? I view it to be one's personal space, their personal information which they have control over in terms of who can access this information.

With the introduction of things such as social media, privacy and it's boundaries are beginning to change and alter. There is a very visible and distinct cultural shift in relation to privacy with the introduction of new technology and social media. Boundaries which define privacy are continually changing. Privacy is all about social conventions, however with the introduction of social media, often these conventions are being ignored.

To use a recent example which I have experienced, my own privacy was, in a sense, violated in a public forum. I am a regular poster on a basketball message board, and enjoy engaging with other's in relation to the competition I currently compete in. However, some members of the forum found out personal information about me and began to post it online, and it was seen by many people I know. Things I had told others in confidence had been shared in a public forum, and my trust had been broken. For lack of a better way to put it, information I had shared had come back to bite me!

This is just one very real instance of privacy being violated via online conventions, and shows that the notion of privacy is very different from years ago since the introduction of the internet and social media. The message is to be very careful when sharing information, in general life or online, to preserve self esteem and to not have your reputation damaged.