Technophobia? (Thing 6)

This week I had all but created a Flickr account for myself, but then stopped short. It was the Yahoo connection that did it; a much more tech-savvy friend once told me he "wouldn't go near Yahoo with a ten-foot pole." (I think his concerns were security related). I realized if I don't even really know what (or who?) is inside my own computer...perhaps I should be concerned about what information I give away to "anyone out there." Thus, I have not (yet?) created a facebook account for myself.

My wife and I have also noticed a trend with some of our friends on facebook or in blogs. Namely, they feel free to share things that seem unsettling (or unseemly) in their candor. It's as if they are journaling in public...which (I think) is exactly what is happening. Because no one is present when writing, there is great freedom. And then this "journal" gets shared with others. Previously, if you share a journal, you only do so in the context of a close, trusting relationship. But a post then becomes public property--almost like one's letters when they die--and the author loses control over the audience.

Many others have made similar comments about the pictures posted on Facebook, and what they seem to reveal about a person. I have been told that many employers now check an applicant's Facebook page as part of the "interview" process.

It appears that the technology for Web 2.0 has evolved more quickly than the ethics of Web 2.0. So perhaps this is where teachers (or the older generation) can play a key role...in helping students/ society understand and respond to "a new thing," but one that incorporates lots of older issues, questions, and patterns.