The other day Giz forwarded me a link to Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy, which has really got me thinking about generations and how we approach information. I really recommend it to anyone interested in demographics, cultural shifts, privacy, and how technology shapes culture.
There were three generational changes that the article highlights.
CHANGE 1: THEY THINK OF THEMSELVES AS HAVING AN AUDIENCE
Kids raised on Web 2.0 have posted personal information on MySpace, Livejournal, and a host of other sites. Part of participating in the web this way means that it is likely that they’ve gotten feedback, comments, or posts on their content which has created the feeling of audience. I don’t update as frequently as I’d like here (blame it on school) and I typically post without the revision I would put into an article I’m submitting for publication, but still, I do get occasional comments. I don’t think of audience as much as I do for printed work, but I do think of the searching audience that might stumble across this site through Technorati. So, mark me in this group, I guess.
CHANGE 2: THEY HAVE ARCHIVED THEIR ADOLESCENCE
Luckily for me, I’m too old to have done this. However, I do frequently think about how I’m archiving the beginnings of my career. There’s information all over the web about what I’m doing right now. I think it’s nice, at the moment. But later, say if I were to move up a career ladder or if I were to be in a leadership position, would I still feel comfortable with all my naive, introductory thoughts out there on the web? I have plans in place in case I need to remove my personal information, but that only applies to sites I have control over, which is just a small percentage of what’s out there.
CHANGE 3: THEIR SKIN IS THICKER THAN YOURS
True. I still don’t like hostile comments or the idea that people might not like me based on my electronic comment. However, I roll with things a lot more easily now. So, I guess I’m in this group too.
I’m not sure if I’m ready to apply a value statement to the cultural changes described in the article, but they’re the sort of thing I’m really interested in exploring. What do you think?
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Comments 2
My take is this: essentially we’re going to need new tools to help us deal with the proliferation of information on any given person. My current belief is that pseudonymity is the way to go. Check out http://www.globalpov.com. The guy who writes the daily blog, David H. Holtzman, also wrote a book on this topic called Privacy Lost, and it’s his take on this issue of Pseudonymity that really interests me. The phrase I keep hearing “Attribution without retribution” the creation of pseudononymous identities which allow people to try on different viewpoints as they are learning and building their perspective seems almost obvious when you think about it, yet nothing provides a solution to this large and looming problem today.
Posted 15 Feb 2007 at 2:20 pm ¶Interesting point! I can see how this makes a lot of sense. Teenagers, it seems, often do try on several different personalities/hobbies/etc while figuring themselves out. Using pseudonyms would allow for this experimentation in a truly anonymous way on the web.
It’s tricky, though, since social networking sites require you to make contacts with friends. I wonder if there would be a way to retain some level of anonymity while still allowing online connections with friends.
Posted 17 Feb 2007 at 7:15 pm ¶Post a Comment