Cell Phones & Privacy

With so many cell phones on the market today able to take photos (and video), do you ever worry about being “captured” in a not-so-flattering moment? How would you deal with a friend who decided to share such a picture or video with others?

On page 14 of Abelson's Digital Explosion, he states "Society is rapidly being freed from the old limitations of geography and status in accessing information". This is very true when you look around and almost everyone is on their blackberry's and iphones. These smart phone technologies have been quickly accepted into our daily life as necessities in which people can access their e mail, the web, and any contact in a matter of seconds. Along with all of the benefits we get from these technologies, there is a HUGE technology scare when it comes to users privacy.

The cameras and video recorders on phones have made it easy for people to take pictures at any moment of people who may not be willing to have their pictures taken. This is a scary thing for many, but I think the people that are worried about it most are people who aren't supposed to be caught in a certain place at a certain time. As for simple privacy of everyday people, it is more annoying than anything to be worried about.

Over the summer I went to a wedding and there were pictures posted from the wedding on sites like Flickr and Facebook before the bride and groom got to even see their wedding pictures. In this case, although it is upsetting for the couple, there is really nothing that they can do about it except ask their friends and family to respect their privacy and not post the pictures. Unless they restrict cameras at their wedding, what else could they do??