I think that social networking technologies are simply implementations of the human desire for connectiveness and relationships. People have a fundamental, intrinsic need to share with and be close to other people. Or society has become so mobile, so distributed, and so isolate that often we can't be physically close to the people we trust, can't interact with them in the ways we have evolved. So, we share ourselves virtually, electronically.
The difference now is that we have no physical reference, no way to verify that we are placing our trust in the people we think we are. The person who online seems to be my best friend from high school could actually be a total stranger, a confidence artist who has successfully impersonated my friend, who will abuse my trust for his own gain. How do I know?
One friend of mine pointed out that, "there is something to be said for the transparent society - if obscurity is the only privacy, then the need for privacy goes away." I'm not sure I agree. Do I need to protect myself (my information)? And (and this is where regulation enters it) is anyone else (the government, my employer, my doctor, my lawyer) responsible for doing so?
The difference now is that we have no physical reference, no way to verify that we are placing our trust in the people we think we are. The person who online seems to be my best friend from high school could actually be a total stranger, a confidence artist who has successfully impersonated my friend, who will abuse my trust for his own gain. How do I know?
One friend of mine pointed out that, "there is something to be said for the transparent society - if obscurity is the only privacy, then the need for privacy goes away." I'm not sure I agree. Do I need to protect myself (my information)? And (and this is where regulation enters it) is anyone else (the government, my employer, my doctor, my lawyer) responsible for doing so?
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