Privacy? What's privacy?
Modern media’s integration within western civilization’s lifestyle has been seamless and swift. There have been recent opinions that this immersion has given way to an “entanglement” or “hybridity” of technologies, affecting social practices and identities (Sauter, 2014). As Deuze summarized, our lives are “lived in rather than with media” (2011).
The development of modern media and the infrastructures associated with them, is completely assimilated within our lives. Lievrouw and Livingstone have defined this new media as “Information and communication technologies and their associated social contexts” (2005). With the rapid technological development of smart phones and tablets, and the introduction of free wifi zones and 3G connectivity, we are now able to be contacted anywhere, at any time. We are more connected than ever before. We can tweet about how horrible a meal was, then tag friends eating at that horrible restaurant on Facebook, with a matching photo of the horrible meal on Instagram with a hashtag like “#sticktothewine”. “Followers” and “Friends” can see your activity on one, or all of these social media sites. And, depending on privacy settings, “Friends of friends” can see such activity.
With the population’s complete immersion in social connectivity and associated technologies, we have developed new, online identities and ideas of self. Deuze discusses that this immersion has established technology as “invisible” from one’s consciousness, making way for these new identities (2011). Upon reflection of this theory, I considered how my own personality or online identity has transformed since embracing Facebook and Instagram. In particular, I remembered a time when I met members of a famous band, who were friends with my friends. We chatted and exchanged details. Following the accepted friend request, I was more inclined to post humorous statuses and flattering photos, therefore showing the more exciting or interesting sides to my personality. However, considering that “identity” is never stable, nor fixed, perhaps my identity simply molded to such a social situation along with my continual desire for self-formation (Sauter, 2014).
Despite technological and social spheres previously existing independently, today, they co-exist and furthermore, are interdependent. Coincidentally, the modern social sphere not only grows on participation, it relies on it. There is a disintermediated process from content to user. The user now creates content as well as participating and contributing to existing content, giving rise to the term “produsage” penned by Axel Bruns (2008). This participation in the new social sphere raises issues of privacy and how to determine just how much of one’s self to divulge. As discussed in last week’s lecture, a user’s activity is fuelled by their desire to reveal such information. Furthermore, a user or participant in this social sphere must comparatively weigh up the loss of privacy with the gratification gained from such participation and communication as discussed by Taddicken and Jers (2011; 143-156).
In the continually growing public sphere, it is important to completely understand your personal privacy and what may be the default settings on such sites. Despite the lines between public and private spheres blurring, media sites like Facebook and Twitter reflect what we choose to reflect and distribute. It is a personal choice to determine whether that reflection is genuine or not.
References
Bruns, Axel. 2008. “Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond – From Production to Produsage” In International Journal on Media Management, New York: Peter Lang
Deuze, Mark. 2011 “Media Life.” Media, Culture & Society 33 (1): 137 - 148.
Lievrouw, Leah and Sonia Livingstone. 2005. “Introduction to the updated student edition.” In The Handbook of New Media: Social Shaping and Consequences of ICTs. 2nd ed, 1-14. London: Sage Publications
Sauter, T. 2014. New Media and Society New Media and Identity (lecture online) (Accessed: 11 March 2014).
Taddicken, Jers. 2011. “The Uses of Privacy Online: Trading a Loss of Privacy for Social Web Gratifications?” In Privacy Online: Perspectives on Privacy and Self-Disclosure in the Social Web, edited by Sabine Trepte an Leonard Reinecke, 143-156. New York: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
