Self-Reporting

I remember there used to be a time when someone saw something crazy at a party or in public and they would tell everyone about it. That was a simple time. Dispelling a rumor was as simple as saying, "I was at home." Even still, nobody really needed to know what we were doing back then unless we decided to brag about how great our lives are. Of course, if we wanted to show proof, we could show pictures we had printed up or video we took. Life was so difficult because we had to have forethought on what we had to take with us and we were out of luck when a need that was unprepared for arose. Then someone realized how clunky all that stuff was so we put it all in a phone.

That's right. Life changed as soon as cell phones became more efficient. The idea was to have a device that helps us organize our lives, but it is funny to think a device can do it alone. Now I can get into how they can't, but I will do that in a different post. This post is more to focus on one of the uses of cell phones: self-reporting. Not just for Twitter or Facebook, but also Four Square and You Tube.


A lot of people have to read 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 in high school, both of which are books that depict government as this Big Brother, fascist-thing. Those books had a lot of depth to them, but they were also interesting due to public perception that the government had too much control. There was question as to why a we were being watched in a free nation. The new problem is now we have a way to show how fabulous we are that everyone knows our exact movements and dealings.




The main issue I see is that we no longer worry about the negatives. Sure some of these things can be fun to post, but the use of Four Square and Facebook has made stalking an even easier task than it was back before the two programs existed...back when you only needed binoculars and a car. Sure, there is the positive that it helps with an alibi should one ever need to go to court, but is that reason enough? It has even been postulated that people running for president in a few years have already put up a great deal of their personal info now.

Just Remember: Before you put up that picture of you licking your friend's face or talking crap about your co-workers, remember that it will still be up long after you forget about it. Is that how you want to be known?





-Future_Man_3000


P.S. - If you have any questions you want answered, feel free to contact me by email: futureman3000@yahoo.com