Does Social Media Make Personal Privacy Impossible?
An Old Lady’s Deep Thoughts #3 …
There are days when I regret having used social media altogether. When it comes to privacy issues, has it done more harm than good? But then again, I’m a bit of a prepper in my heart.
Social media has allowed us to share anything and everything with the entire world. We post intimate announcements along with photos of our grandkids, dates for upcoming trips, big purchases, our daily schedules, where anyone can find us at any given time of the day, and our political and religious opinions.
Is this wise?
I’ve always struggled with the desire to live off-grid and disappear. That comes in part from being raised to believe the world would end in my lifetime.
I’ve often wondered why my parents had six children, considering their grim outlook. Their message? We brought you into a world where being alive is risky business but you should thank us anyway. We have very little to tell you that’s promising. You’ll rarely see any truly happy people, but consider yourself lucky that we gave you the gift of life. Now get ready for the end because you’re either going to die or be raptured any day now. Furthermore, if I didn’t qualify for being raptured, I’d be left behind to suffer The Great Tribulations, untold horrors that make human wars look tame.
Ugh
As hard as I’ve tried to keep their grim message from interfering with my life, it still creeps into my worldview. Factor in how unpredictable humans are and that’s a recipe for antisocial behavior, especially coupled with being an introvert. I’m guilty on both counts.
Forgive me, I’ve meandered a bit off course.
My question regarding social media and privacy issues may be a bit trickier for me to answer, however, because I was trained to be highly skeptical and self-protective. Yet, even if I were more comfortable in a world of social issues, I think the above question is still worth asking.
As if privacy issues aren’t bad enough, misinformation runs rampant and virtually unchecked on social media platforms.
Humans are emotional creatures. It’s been proven over and over by our reactions to one another. The day of polite discourse has disappeared, however. Now, schoolyard bullies and their followers name-call and threaten others nonstop. What once would’ve sent a child to the principal’s office is now normalized behavior for adults all the way up to the highest office of the land. Turns out that hiding behind a screen is liberating. It frees us to be nasty without social ramifications.
There are days when I think I need to quit social media cold turkey.
In addition, as we struggle to keep a wee bit of privacy, even if it’s an illusion, I have to wonder if we aren’t our own worst enemies. As if hacking warfare by foreign countries isn’t a big enough threat, we expose ourselves to every Tom, Dick, and Harry cruising the internet when we share too much personal information.
It’s like getting into a car with a stranger while keeping our fingers crossed behind our backs.
So far, I’m still participating in arguably the #1 form of socializing in the modern world. Maybe social media is addictive. We can’t stop because we must participate, even against our better judgment at times. We like to peek into other people’s lives and in turn enjoy the attention we garner even when negative at times.
Hmmm …
Social media IS our social life and although we don’t have the time to research every piece of misinformation, the biggest bullies seem to have the largest number of followers. We struggle to make sense of that. Being too quiet and too private makes us feel like wallflowers at the school dance back in the day. Nobody even notices us. That makes us sad.
What do you think?
— Just me wondering why humans are so contradictory.
Teresa is an author and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
