It's interesting how much that concept has changed in the 10 plus years since I did that. Privacy is seemingly compromised. We worry that someone may learn too much about us. I wonder why that has become a concern. I understand that is a little creepy and takes some adjustment to the fact that strangers know us. Yet, I liken it to the advent (in my lifetime) of caller ID. How disconcerting it was to have someone answer the phone with your name! Hi Kim, they would say.
I wonder why being familiar with each other is considered a taboo. Why is that uncomfortable? Why do I shudder at the idea that someone may have a reason to talk to me because they know we have common interests?
The opposite of privacy is intimacy.
Think about that for a moment.
If you aren't private, you are intimate. Which do you prefer?
Do you prefer being in a room of strangers or a room of friends? Do you prefer something that will facilitate conversation or for it to grow organically, albeit awkwardly.
Personally, I've learned how much I appreciate social media because I have conversation points when I run into someone I don't see as often.
"Oh, I saw your post about such and such... tell me more!"
"Your trip looked wonderful, what was your favorite part?"
"What did you like at X restaurant?"
We are so quick to vilify social media without realizing the social capital it gives us. Personally, I prefer intimacy to privacy.
I'm strong enough in my convictions that if a marketer buys my data on the guise of pretending intimacy, I can make up my own mind, without seeing an advertisement.
We stress about the wrong things. This huge concern over privacy is akin to saying, "I don't want people to know me."
I'm more about intimacy.
Know me, read what I say, and tell me what you think.
