“Tell-All Generation Keeps Some Things Offline” (front page, May 9), about social networks, raises real concerns regarding privacy online.
While the “tell all” generations are reported to be as concerned with privacy as their older counterparts, they nevertheless continue to naïvely upload terabytes of information onto social networking sites. And those sites have a vested interest in keeping it that way.
In promoting more disclosure, the social networking industry is “capturing” personal information for advertisers and for further data-mining. These efforts are pushing a cultural privacy paradigm shift that will have significant repercussions.
With progressive views on privacy, younger generations will be more likely to put personal, health and financial information online. These disclosures will have more serious and lasting consequences than just a compromising photograph.
Moreover, given the sometimes subtle correlations gleaned from data-mining, it may not be obvious what uploaded information will eventually be the most revealing.
Dov Greenbaum
Mark Gerstein
Oakland, Calif., May 10, 2010
Above is a published letter, with the following citation:
D Greenbaum & M Gerstein (2010). "Thrills and Traps, Lurking on the Web", NY Times (12 May, pg. A24)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/opinion/l12internet.html
In response to:
Tell-All Generation Learns to Keep Things Offline
By LAURA M. HOLSON
Published: May 8, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/fashion/09privacy.html
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