Privacy Caught Pants Down
Six Pixels of Separation recently wrote The Naked Truth – and with it some very interesting stats about the readiness of us youngsters to get our gear off. I’m a digital native, in the younger gen-y bracket, but I say: technology is no excuse for irresponsibility. Nor do I think this is (as the article went to put it) a (what we consider) privacy issue. Still, interesting read never the less.
I’ll never stop anyone taking a nude photo of themselves or their partner — but don’t expect them to keep it to themselves — whether knowingly or unknowingly (human error has left many ‘private’ photos in full view of work colleagues). Sure, your partner or lover might keep a promise but some (many?) technologies are as quick to keep those promises.
Nor are your friends next time they borrow your phone and find themselves in your gallery.
“One in five teen girls (22%), nearly as many teen boys (18%) and one-third (33%) of young adults say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude photographic or video images of themselves.”
If we move beyond the images and videos, the numbers get just as raw and unnerving. Here’s what was reported today on Marketing Charts for the news item titled, One in Five Teens Sends Sexually Explicit Images:
“On the receiving end of the messages, 48% of teens and 64% of young adults (56% total) say they have gotten a sexually suggestive message from someone else. Among young teen girls (age 13-16), one-third have received such messages. …What teens and young adults are doing electronically seems to have an effect on what they do in real life, the survey found. Nearly one-quarter of teens (22%) say that technology makes them personally more forward and aggressive.”
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The bigger question: is this going to make people recoil and seek a much higher level privacy, or are we going to continue down this path where all of our lives become open books in online social networks and the like?
Robert Scoble doesn’t mind being naked on Flickr.
Also of interest:
About Jye
Jye Smith is currently the Digital Strategist for Weber Shandwick Australia. Ranked in B&Ts 30 Under 30, he's a regular keynote speaker and workshop facilitator who specialises in digital strategy, social media marketing, and change management.
