Privacy please
Posted 03-28-2007 at 07:30 AM by mycoupons
* Editor's note* some information contained in this post may be graphic.
When does information become TOO Much information? Or as my ten year old niece calls it - 'TMI!'
As you know, the results of Anna Nicole Smith's autopsy results were released on Monday. As if the statement by the Broward County Medical Examiner wasn't enough- the actual autopsy report is available for public viewing. I am choosing NOT to publish a link to this, but it is something that can be found easily with Google.
Yes, she was a celebrity. Yes the circumstances surrounding her death were awkward, but, she was a human being. She loved, and was loved. Does she really deserve to have such personal information about a body that she obviously loved broadcast?
I certainly hope that if an autopsy is ever performed on me, the report will not be available for public viewing. Call me a private person, but I'd rather the world not know the contents of my stomach or the appearance of my genitalia.
My friend who emailed me the report was very excited at her discovery. She found it so 'neat' to be able to read all the sorted details of this poor woman's body. I can understand the attraction- nobody likes other people's business like I do- but the question begs to be answered, when is enough enough?
The internet has afforded us as a community so many things. The ability to find out very personal information on another is merely an extra. It shocks me the things an average person with a search engine and some time can find.
Why do we justify the encroachment on our neighbor's privacy to be acceptable when we are sitting at our desks with American Idol playing in the back? The things we can find with the click of a mouse are things we would never imagine finding if it meant crawling through a window, and looking through our neighbor's desk.
I am nosy. I freely admit that. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is "If you don't have something nice to say, come sit by me." I am and always have been a gossip. I like other people's laundry. Just not the dirty laundry.
For the purposes of this article, I researched my husband's old football coach. I found things within seconds that I am sure he would rather I not have. I know his age, place of birth, address, phone number, where he went to college, that he got divorced in 1998, that he foreclosed on a house in 2001, and that he is currently looking for a SWF 35-50 who likes sports and doesn't mind smokers. I also saw a picture of him in a very unflattering light.
I know intimate details of this man's life, and as far as I know, the only tie I have to him is that he coached my husband twenty years ago. I have never met him or spoken to him. Yet, I could pick up the phone and call him right now. Or hop on a plane and show up at his front doorstep.
I feel that we as a society are becoming too lax in our own protection. We are posting too many details of our lives on our My Space, You Tube and Blogs. We are sharing what should be personal information with people we do not even know exist. Sadly, we are opening ourselves up to a whole lot of trouble.
Want to have a My Space? Fine! Be smart! Set it to private. Want to post pictures of yourself in compromising situations? Ok by me, just do it on a password protected page. You never know when that knock at the door could be trouble.
My daughter Lauren, (by the way that is NOT her real name) has become quite the computer guru. We have shortcuts set up for her to click on Noggin, Nick Jr., and Playhouse Disney. We also have parental controls in place which keep her from visiting other sites. She was at a friend's house last week. She told her friend about Jo Jo's Circus game on the Disney website. The friend got on her mother's computer, and typed in Dizni.com. (Points for trying to spell!) Thank GOD the mother walked in just as Lauren was about to click on some links.
So what's the point to this rant?? I don't know. I am just scared for my children, and my children's children. I am scared that we are becoming so desensitized to personal space and private information that by 2020, we will all be walking around with microchips on our foreheads.
If you have kids, PLEASE install parental controls on your computer. If you have a website, please be careful what you share.
And if you have a minute, go look up YOUR old high school coach. (I'm kidding!)
Until we meet again,
Cici
Cici@MyCoupons.com
When does information become TOO Much information? Or as my ten year old niece calls it - 'TMI!'
As you know, the results of Anna Nicole Smith's autopsy results were released on Monday. As if the statement by the Broward County Medical Examiner wasn't enough- the actual autopsy report is available for public viewing. I am choosing NOT to publish a link to this, but it is something that can be found easily with Google.
Yes, she was a celebrity. Yes the circumstances surrounding her death were awkward, but, she was a human being. She loved, and was loved. Does she really deserve to have such personal information about a body that she obviously loved broadcast?
I certainly hope that if an autopsy is ever performed on me, the report will not be available for public viewing. Call me a private person, but I'd rather the world not know the contents of my stomach or the appearance of my genitalia.
My friend who emailed me the report was very excited at her discovery. She found it so 'neat' to be able to read all the sorted details of this poor woman's body. I can understand the attraction- nobody likes other people's business like I do- but the question begs to be answered, when is enough enough?
The internet has afforded us as a community so many things. The ability to find out very personal information on another is merely an extra. It shocks me the things an average person with a search engine and some time can find.
Why do we justify the encroachment on our neighbor's privacy to be acceptable when we are sitting at our desks with American Idol playing in the back? The things we can find with the click of a mouse are things we would never imagine finding if it meant crawling through a window, and looking through our neighbor's desk.
I am nosy. I freely admit that. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is "If you don't have something nice to say, come sit by me." I am and always have been a gossip. I like other people's laundry. Just not the dirty laundry.
For the purposes of this article, I researched my husband's old football coach. I found things within seconds that I am sure he would rather I not have. I know his age, place of birth, address, phone number, where he went to college, that he got divorced in 1998, that he foreclosed on a house in 2001, and that he is currently looking for a SWF 35-50 who likes sports and doesn't mind smokers. I also saw a picture of him in a very unflattering light.
I know intimate details of this man's life, and as far as I know, the only tie I have to him is that he coached my husband twenty years ago. I have never met him or spoken to him. Yet, I could pick up the phone and call him right now. Or hop on a plane and show up at his front doorstep.
I feel that we as a society are becoming too lax in our own protection. We are posting too many details of our lives on our My Space, You Tube and Blogs. We are sharing what should be personal information with people we do not even know exist. Sadly, we are opening ourselves up to a whole lot of trouble.
Want to have a My Space? Fine! Be smart! Set it to private. Want to post pictures of yourself in compromising situations? Ok by me, just do it on a password protected page. You never know when that knock at the door could be trouble.
My daughter Lauren, (by the way that is NOT her real name) has become quite the computer guru. We have shortcuts set up for her to click on Noggin, Nick Jr., and Playhouse Disney. We also have parental controls in place which keep her from visiting other sites. She was at a friend's house last week. She told her friend about Jo Jo's Circus game on the Disney website. The friend got on her mother's computer, and typed in Dizni.com. (Points for trying to spell!) Thank GOD the mother walked in just as Lauren was about to click on some links.
So what's the point to this rant?? I don't know. I am just scared for my children, and my children's children. I am scared that we are becoming so desensitized to personal space and private information that by 2020, we will all be walking around with microchips on our foreheads.
If you have kids, PLEASE install parental controls on your computer. If you have a website, please be careful what you share.
And if you have a minute, go look up YOUR old high school coach. (I'm kidding!)
Until we meet again,
Cici
Cici@MyCoupons.com
Total Comments 0
Comments
Recent Blog Entries by mycoupons
- Wanted: Game Show Contestants!!! (07-03-2008)
- MyCoupons.com merchant of the Day: Heels.com (06-19-2008)
- MyCoupons Merchant of the Day: AmericanTailgator.com (06-11-2008)
- MyCoupons Merchant of the Day: StubBuddy.com! (06-05-2008)
- MyCoupons merchant of the Day: Shoes.com and their new coupon code! (06-03-2008)
