Saturday, December 4, 2010

Afraid of the internet

The other morning in the work truck we were listening to the radio. Now, I already hate the station we were listening to because its a country music channel but on this particular morning I got quite agitated my the rhetoric being spewed as though it were truth. The people were talking about facebook and they were saying that it is a pick up site and that they can't believe how open people are on there. I know that some people will agree with this, some people keep their shit to themselves, not me (as you may have noticed).

I think people are more afraid of the internet and information than they really should be. First off you can block the people you don't like so you don't have to have contact with the stranger who commented on your post inappropriately. Second you can set your privacy levels so that no one can see what you say, so that only your friends can see what you say, so that friends of friends can see what you say or so that the whole world can see what you say, you can also do this with photos, comments, wall posts and almost everything else you do or are in on facebook. The only people who can access your stuff are the people you want to or maybe someone who is overly interested and capable of hacking your account(which is, I would argue, considerably rare). Third, what is it you're hiding, why do yoy need so much privacy anyway, what exactly are you afraid of, I'm proud of who I am and who I want to be and what I think and what I have to say. If you have an opinion the why would you hide it? Or maybe its not fear, its shame perhaps you're doing something you are ashamed of and don't want anyone to know. Personally I have nothing to hide and am not worried about what people might find out about me.

These are just my thoughts about how ridiculous it is to worry about being open on facebook because even if you are afraid or ashamed of what you might say or put on facebook, YOU CONTROL WHO SEES IT. Just check out your privacy settings..

And that doesn't even touch the idea that facebook is a pick up site. Here's a thought, people who aren't commited to their partner and are interested in cheating or finding someone new will do just that with or without facebook. In fact there are hundreds of chat rooms and websites dedicated to the business of cheating, there are always adds on other sites talking about them and many of them guarantee that you will get laid tonight if that's what you want, no facebook required. That's not even counting regular dating sites on which people can lie and find someone to date that isn't their partner. There are thousands of singles sites and if one were so inclined one would have no trouble finding someone that could be picked up. Don't blame facebook for the behavior of its users. People who want to cheat will find a way to cheat.

So stop being afraid of facebook, if you are a good person who can trust your partner then you have nothing to worry about. Be open and opinionated and spread your thoughtful point of view amongst your friends or maybe even the public if you are confident enough

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