To continue the theme of my last post ‘Going out of your head; it’s the new brain drain’ the searches that capture online identities are having ‘real’ consequences for offline life.
I have done a LOT of research into how individuals create, store and relate to information about themselves online. Hey I’m a social analyst it’s in my nature to be curious, or rather to nosey into other people’s lives.
Time and again I am struck by the ‘surprised’ facial expression that accompanies the ‘oh my god!’ cry as realisation hits that information that is considered ‘private’ is: 1) easily accessible online and 2) will be there FOREVER!
Yes even those ‘deleted’ emails.
To a certain extent there is a ‘black box’ mentality that holds up here, where the perception that those pictures, tags, posts etc related to that ‘hilarious’ bar crawl and hen night in Amsterdam will stay contained within the ‘box’ of the site and therefore be secure. WRONG. Pandora’s box is very much an opensource world.
Recently there was a case in the US when border guards refused entry to a Canadian psychotherapist because when Googled an article popped up that described how he had taken LSD in the 1960s. And if a States border guard can find out that level of information; well it won’t be too difficult for anyone else to track down similar tales.
Remember this; traces of you online are open – from you Filckr account to your Facebook profile. If its ‘on’ the web, its now likely to be on the radar from the the relatively ‘harmless,’ but annoying Spam companies and marketing corporations to the more formal Government organisations. and agencies.
Far from wanting to put people off from ‘being’ online and sharing lives, I would however like to raise the level of awareness about the potential consequences for privacy. Thankfully we are not all cultivating a high profile and squeaky clean public image such as best befits a politician or celebrity. And yet to a certain extent your profile is high and is public due to the open nature of the web as it stands today.
For all the excitement around social networks, open source etc. one sobering fact remains we have yet to really learn what the consequences that this kind of information about us will have for the future. Want that job as a big shot someone in 5 years time? You had better make sure your image offline AND online is the proof and not the downfall of your competence. From the point and click page-based information of Web 1.0 to mass communication tool the ubiquitousness of new media is going to be huge and with far reaching social consequences.
Tap a few keys and see what pops up. If an American border guard can do it…
About Dr Mariann Hardey
I hold the position of Lecturer in Social Media Marketing at Durham Business School. I also spend too much time enjoying social technologies, media+ stuff. That'll make me a Geek then. And a gal.
Web | More Posts (80)
