Three or four years ago I asked a recent college grad what she and her friends would think of someone who didn't have a Facebook or MySpace page (this was back when MySpace was still big).
She looked utterly confused for a moment, scratched her head, and said, "I guess I'd assume they had something to hide."
So it's not a surprised to see where baby-faced founder of Facebook has declared privacy "no longer the social norm."
I remember when I was his age, braying obstreperously that my life was an open book.
Somebody should have said, "Yes, but you're 25, and most of the pages are still blank."
Or as my dad used to say, "Old people are quiet because old people have more to be quiet about."
Your dad’s saying gets to the nub of it – who gets to decide what about me is private now? That’s where Zuckerberg’s argument that things like blogging mean we all want to be completely open falls apart. If I post stupid stuff on my blog (and I do) at least I am doing that by choice. If I tweet stupid stuff (and I do) I am doing so by choice.
But if Facebook says “all that stuff you posted to share with your friends is now viewable by the whole world” that’s something different – especially if I signed up before Facebook decided to change its rules.
The social norm may very well be that people have a whole new range of opportunities and an increased tendency to set aside their privacy. But I don’t think it’s valid to say we have given up our right to have some control over our privacy – especially the exposure of content that we create. But what do I know? After all, I’m almost as old as you, David.
What Reuben said.
I’m being redundant, and probably shouldn’t comment at all, since pretty much everything he said, I would have said if he hadn’t beat me to it.
However, I think it’s important to remind the Zuckerbergs of the world that they – in their “It’s ALL ABOUT ME! ME! ME!” world-view – are actually not the ONLY view out there where privacy is concerned.
As both Reuben and you note, David, let’s see how some of these kids feel when something embarassing or hurtful, to them or their loved ones gets out into the world thanks to this “new privacy norm”. Then we can talk realistically about this. Until then . . . well, let’s just say EVERYTHING on my Facebook page is intentionally set to “Friends only”. And I mean everything.