Social Voyeurism
We all do it in one way or another. Watching the neighbor out the window, listening to the cell phone conversation of the person next to us, or even just reading the latest news. It’s all a form of voyeurism. We want to know what is happening and what other people are doing, and one part of us wants to think that we can do it better.
With the rise of communications, our ability to keep track of other people has become greater and our desire to do so is insatiable. Every second is filled with email, Twitter, cell phone calls, Facebook posts and customer satisfaction surveys. We have seen the rise of socially acceptable voyeurism.
Where do you stand?
For a number of years I’ve seen my time slowly taken away by a constant surge of communication demands. Don’t get me wrong, this is of my own doing. I decided to start a business and I chose technology as my focus. I have also chosen to limit my exposure. I am the last person I know that doesn’t have a data phone. I have resisted, with a passion, getting a Facebook account and I just don’t get Twitter.
I know these things can be helpful from a business perspective and I know they can help you keep in touch but at what point is it too much.
Digital Peep Show
Almost every day we talk about privacy. You are sent a new privacy policy from your bank, or someone feels like their privacy has been invaded. The straight fact is that we have less privacy today than we did a decade ago. With our own personal privacy disappearing we find ourselves searching out for others that we too can watch. All you have to do is look at the popularity of reality – or “unscripted” – television to see what I mean. The wall between personal and public life has come down and now we feel it’s our right to know everyone’s dirty little secrets.
On Facebook, not only do you see what your friends are saying but you see their friends too. You accept an invitation to be someone’s friend when you don’t even really know them because it makes you feel more important when you have a bigger list of people that you can watch. With a Twitter account you feel obligated to tell the world when you are having a cup of coffee because you have people that have said they want to watch you.
Next month five reporters in France are being isolated for a week with only Twitter and Facebook access to see if they can still report the news. I can only imagine how wildly distorted your view of the world will become when this is your only source of information.
Caught in the Trap
Now, it’s time for a little bit of honesty. About two weeks ago I signed up for both a Facebook and Twitter account. Why did I do it? I have friends that I haven’t seen in ten years that my wife talks to on Facebook and I have clients that have asked if I have a Twitter account. It has come down to my own personal need to be a voyeur – at least the socially acceptable kind.
This last week I spent two days out on calls and didn’t get to check in to my email and I was starting to go in to withdrawal. The fact is that I’m hooked on the data line and I can’t disconnect. So, think about me as I go shopping for a data phone.
January 29, 2010