No Privacy on the Internet

Today's news bring more grievances of Facebook privacy bugs. Not too long ago, you might have read the story about a sociology professor who misunderstood her privacy settings and inadvertently posted some careless (and obvious to most of us, facetious) comments about looking for a hit-man. As a result, she was put on administrative leave.

A recent article in Inside Higher Ed, titled Professors and Social Media points out that professors are increasingly turning to social media to supplement their teaching and mentions a Pearson report that "suggest[s] that 80 percent of professors...have at least one account with either Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, Slideshare, or Google Wave."

Social Media is a whole new form of communication that is increasingly integrated into our social lives. It is approaching, if not already there, the primacy of a phone or email for communication. However, unlike a phone or even email, it is much more public...or as the Facebook example illustrates, we have much less control over what we publish via Social Media. That's the whole point -- these media are social.

When I was a kid in the Soviet Union, my parents couldn't speak freely about politics in our home unless they turned the dial and stuck a pencil in it on the rotary phone. There was always fear of the KGB listening in, and for good reason. My aunt, Luba, went to a gulag for poking fun of Stalin. Maybe I am a little paranoid as a result, but I always assume that whatever I put on the Internet may be used against me, no matter how private it seems.

So when I hear professors discuss whether to friend students, I say YES! friend them...or at least friend some and always act as if your students can see and read whatever you post. The internet is inherently not private, and any sense of privacy is only an illusion. It is only sensible that we should always act as if all of our musings on the internet are public and only post stuff that we don't mind anyone reading, be it students, parents, friends, bosses, the Man, etc. Don't be surprised if a potential employer finds your blog post on the internet or if Facebook suddenly decides to make your "interests" public for the sake of targeted advertising. This is a capitalist country after all and Facebook is a business, not a social service.

Having said that, we live in a relatively free country and have the luxury of speaking freely. I am proud of the fact that I can participate in the public discourse about culture and politics without being afraid to say what I think...for the most part. The Internet is an awesome public forum. If you want privacy, just buy a notebook and keep a journal. But be sure to put it somewhere safe.