November Notes, Day 10

"Is Your Personal Life Fair Game?"

I remember the old standard that if you were going to break up with someone, you should do it in a public place so that they wouldn't make a scene.  If they do, however, does someone else have the right to film it and publish it?  Kinda like this article I saw earlier today...

I've taken a lot of plane flights.  And, I'm so happy that you can't talk on your phone during a flight because having heard people's conversations before the flight, immediately upon landing, and waiting in baggage claim;  I wouldn't want to be subjected to 4 hours of the same.  Seriously, what did people do before cell phones made every mundane event in the day something to call someone about?

But given that we're living in an "I as reporter" world where YouTube, Vimeo, and the People of Walmart exist, how can we expect to keep some modicum of privacy when out in public?  When reality TV first started, I think it stimulated that small voyeuristic part of us that was curious about how other people lived and thought.  For the first time we were allowed into other people's homes or lives and saw their interactions with each other, their dress, their choice of dates and what they did on those dates.  

And, I think to some extent, the explosion of reality shows (plus the availability of phones with instant upload to the web) makes it now seem almost o.k. to film or record anyone you see just because it's "out in public and if they didn't want someone to see them or hear them then they should have stayed at home."  Plus you get to make fun of them too along with your friends.

So watch what you do out there, what you say, and what you wear... It's not just Big Brother that's watching...