3/09/2006 05:09:00 PM|||Jonthon|||

NPR: Student Gladly Shares Life Details on the Web

Thanks for stopping by, and being an NPR listener. I'll admit that it's kind of cool to peak my head up into the limelight, even if only for a moment, to share my insight about the pressing issue that is online privacy.

My feeling is that students are using the technology to keep in touch, scout job prospects, get furniture from graduating seniors...in other words, amass social capital. For those familiar with the work of Robert Putnam, of Bowling Alone fame, I dare say that social networks are serving the same functions as were his bowling alleys (I was always convinced that bowling had little to do with democratic participation.)

So how do I reflect on regulatory efforts? Not entirely disdainfully. Identity theft is a real concern, both on- and off-line. The ease with which one can physically locate someone has increased, and for some this is surely cause for concern. But I honestly believe that such abuses are rare, and over-hyped. The benefits far outweigh the risk, and they aren't given enough (read: any) attention.

I also worry that such efforts are constraining a generation that has been radicalized by the actions of a unitary executive that I feel needs to be stopped. America used to have a lot of public spaces, but now discussing politics at bars, in classrooms, or on the streets can be anathema. The facebook is one of the most lenient and discursive forums open to our generation, and to regulate or censor it borders on suppressing first amendment rights. I am also confident that doing so will further radicalize our generation, in a time when we need to be mending bridges, not destroying them.

Feel free to comment, or email me directly. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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