Jacqueline Lee

Is privacy still relevant given today's hyper-connected world of online social networking?

Yes, I believe that privacy is still relevant. Even though the world is being connected via internet and mobile phones, people should still be allowed to maintain certain levels of privacy. People do not want to know what you are doing 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

For example, the famous bloggers Xiaxue, and her website (www.xiaxue.blogspot.com) is one of the most visited blog in Singapore along side with Dawn yang (www.clapbangkiss.xanga.com) they are Singapore’s female most visited bloggers and Singaporeans, mainly girls, tend to look up to them. I do read Xiaxue’s blog regular and whatever she writes is hilarious.

I tried to have a blog myself when I was younger, I was inspired to be like Xiaxue, a famous blogger. This would allow me to work from home and get the free perks so that people would want me to advertise their items. I stopped blogging because it was time consuming and my life wasn’t that interesting as I hoped it would be.

There are such websites for facebook, twitter and Friendster which allows you share your personal photos with the world or your friends and also update your status. For instants, what you are currently doing and if your friends on facebook agree with your status, they would click the “like” button to like your status, or they could comment on your status. Facebooks, owns every single pictures that is uploaded. Whatever picture that uploaded on facebook, they can sell these pictures without your permission.

The hyper connect of the social networking has its down side. This is how so many sex tapes are appearing on the internet. They are leaked from an unknown source and the people how uploaded the tape doesn’t respect the person’s privacy. And how celebrities stalked by paparazzi, whatever they do, the next day the whole world will know. They can’t even go to the hospital without letting the whole world know.

We are not celebrities, we have the right to own privacy but it depends on individual. It depends how much of your privacy you want to reveal and to share with the world.