I sometimes think -- no, I often think -- that we adults tend to give away far too much information about ourselves. How can we expect young people to look up to us as role models, when in fact we are appallingly bad role models?
This cult of too much information manifests itself in a number of ways. In the pursuit of networking we put lots of contact details about ourselves online -- the very thing we always tell kids not to do.
Sometimes, this is forced upon us. In the UK, for example, businesses have to put the address of their registered office on their website. If you work from home, that means you have to put your home address, unless you have decided to use your accountant's, or legal representative's or bank's address as your registered office.
Personally, I think that's a rule that really ought to be changed, in order to make it difficult for anyone but legitimate enquirers to discover your abode. Not that it would make much difference, of course, because businesses also have to post various other bits of information online, any one of which could be used to find your address in many cases, if the person was determined enough.
This is what I call institutionalised non-privacy, and its frightening in a way because it's institutionalised, as opposed to an unfortunate lapse of human nature in a particular situation.
By the latter I'm referring to practices like consulting a database in full view of a 3rd party. The worst case I have ever seen of this was when I went into a travel agent a few years ago to enquire about holidays abroad. At one point, the lady serving me disappeared in order to get some brochures, leaving me with a clear view of her screen, on which there was a list of people showing their names, addresses and holiday dates. You probably don't need me to tell you that I did not use that travel agent for my holiday arrangements.
I really don't understand the mentality of people who advertise all their work commitments in advance, with dates and venues. To my mind, that really is tempting Providence. If I were a burglar I should definitely do plenty of research on the net when planning my next heist.
There are other forms of information giveaway which, whilst less potentially serious, could lead to some embarrassment. I am a member of the music sharing social network Last. fm, and I've installed a widget that places a status message in my Skype profile stating the music that I am currently listening to. I am yet to be convinced that my reputation is likely to be enhanced by announcements that I am listening to We Got The Funk, Gimme Some or Do It To The Music.
Slightly more seriously, I put a widget on my website that lets the world know when I have made another Seesmic video. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but at the moment it is quietly accusing me -- well, actually, loudly accusing me -- of not having posted a new video for 70 days.
The cult of non-privacy is not confined to the online world. Whenever I travel there is always at least one inconsiderate idiot shouting into his or her mobile phone. Depending on the class of the person involved (Britain is still very much a class-divided society, no matter what "they" tell you), the gist of the conversation will either be "I am the boss, a workaholic, have all the answers, and am generally wonderful", or "I'll be home in 10 minutes, let's get some fish and chips."
Two weeks ago I spent the entire journey of twenty minutes listening to some fool agonising at the top of his voice whether he should say something to some girl who had dumped his best friend in favour of someone else. Frankly, if his friend was as moronically interfering as he is then I don't blame her.
I recently attended a talk by a South African educator called Adele Botha, at the Handheld learning conference in London. She mentioned the fact that she and her students were working on mobile phone etiquette, or "mobiquette". One of its tenets is:
No private conversations in public places.
Quite.
Is it possible to be a public person and still retain one's privacy? Of course it is, but it takes thought and effort. I think that what we really ought to be helping youngsters understand is not how to be totally private, which we hypocritically cannot manage to do ourselves, but to work out the right (for them) balance of privacy and openness, taking into account common sense and circumstances.
For example, instead of telling young people not to allow anyone to make contact with them unless they are a friend, which is a pretty flimsy concept in internet terms, we should perhaps teach them how to be contractible in a way that does not lead directly to them. Like the phone numbers on my website, which enable complete strangers to leave voicemails and send me faxes, without revealing my personal phone numbers at all.
In other words, we should be giving them tools and strategies to help them navigate their own way through an ever-changing technological landscape.
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