NPR: Tina Brown's 'The State of Our Privacy'

NPR: Tina Brown's Must-Reads: The State Of Our Privacy

Listened to this on my way in to work today.

I must say that it is refreshing to hear someone say what I have been thinking all along.

Why is everyone so hell-bent to jump on every new 'gadget' that comes out? What is this 'Facebook' craze? Why?

Like Tina Brown, I want to hide. I don't want people necessarily finding me, my family etc. I truly don't care nor do I want to know what Joe Blow Citizen is doing...if I did, I'd turn on that idiot box otherwise known as T.V.

Yes I blog, but to me that is not the same as putting 'Oh I am so happy and raising an ant farm and playing sorority sister' 'out there' on Facebook. It sounds, looks and feels fake as well as insipid - incredibly stupid comes to mind. Boring...sophomoric...and on and on.

I blog under a nom de plume (look it up idiot) - and - while I have shared my ups and downs and my emotions I was doing so being completely anonymous and actually trying to help myself (did I get feed back you bet - while I am at it - does anyone blog anymore? Does anyone read anything longer than 140 character anymore? Do I sound disgusted? Imagine that). While Facebook might be 'therapeutic' for those out there using it, nothing quite so 'deep and introspective' springs to mind...sorry, but I just don't see the Dorothy Parker set signing up for this crap.

I am glad I have family I can connect to, yet - could we possibly pick up the phone and call each other? Is that simply too much to ask? Is 'face-to-face' being replaced by Facebook? Isn't that scary and sad to anyone out there?

Is it possible to politely say - I really don't want to see pictures of myself from when I was say 8 years old posted somewhere for the entire world to see - I hated how I looked growing up (not that much has changed about that)- but while others may find this whimsical I find it confining and an invasion.

Oh sure it's always nice to 'see where they are now' from our 'old friends' that apparently we were so very attached to that we spoke to them all the time BEFORE Facebook (yeah right) - but there are studies about how men and women are hooking up with their ex 'long lost loves' from HS and college and dumping their spouses because of these social networking sites - this is good? How?

We complain and literally scream about our privacy being taken away and then put everything anyone wants to know about us out there. Can you say 'conflict of interests'? Ya think????

I just don't get it - like Bill Maher I want to know why you feel the need to share your private parts on a webcam...and like Tina Brown I want to know why you your life is all that interesting to the rest of the planet and what the cost is in the long run...

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.