Privacy, Nudes, and Being Yourself on the Internet

My Twitter Week has ended. I can return to a normal level of privacy and not have my life broadcast onto the Internet, except I want to say that this level of privacy is a sham:

Privacy
Definition of Privacy:
1 a: the quality or state of being apart from company or observation : seclusion b: freedom from unauthorized intrusion [one's right to privacy]
2 archaic : a place of seclusion
3 a: secrecy b: a private matter : secret

The definition of privacy that I am discussing pertains to secrecy (obviously the Internet is not coming into your bedroom and punching you when you are sleeping).

Many think the Internet is taking away your privacy, but in reality it is giving you the freedom to be yourself in public.

There is a lot of fear that the Internet is documenting your every move. You search for something on Google and it remembers. You post something on Facebook and it remembers. You buy something on Amazon and it remembers. All these sites have information about you. With all this information, these websites may know you better than your friends, but this is not a bad thing (except that your friends do not know you well enough). All these websites know is who you really are.

Being Who you Really Are and the Internet
On the Internet, people do not have to hide their true self. They can be who they want. Even if you are an outcast from a small town, you can find support on the Internet through social networks, blogs, websites, and forums. People use this support to be more confident with themselves and then they add to the community of support for others, creating a ripple effect. However, there are draw backs with the Internet communities. Many forums online have far worse things said on them compared to what gets said face to face off the Internet. This will happen less and less as we lose our anonymity with things like Facebook Connect and Open ID, which let people post as themselves on websites (unless they create fake accounts to hide behind). In general, the Internet is opening up freedom for people to be themselves.

Nudes
Even sex, the unnamed taboo to talk about, has become more open. In a recent study, 20% of teens say they have posted nude (or semi-nude, which most articles about this study accidentally left out) photos or videos on the Internet. This has come as a shock to many, but it is nothing to be concerned about. There is a fear that from these pictures that more kids are getting pregnant and spreading STDs, but this is bogus. When you think about it, these pictures are just people's bodies, their skin. Teens and young adults are flowing with hormones, causing them to have natural sexual urges. Repressing and ignoring their urges is not the answer. Educating and being open about sex will lead to less teen pregnancies and less STDs, not shaming people about their bodies.


Who cares about privacy if it is hindering them from being free? So, enjoy the Internet. Post what you want. Post it as yourself. Do not hide yourself from the world any longer. Unless, you want to post another "spankwire" video, because then you are crazy and you should stay locked in your basement (just kidding, be yourself... if that is what the people in that video are doing).

Well, maybe the Internet is not really helping you be you. Maybe, the only way to be yourself is to not care about being judged and just do what you want. Personally, I just want to live in my speedo. What do you want to do?