Online privacy is something I am rather particular about. I know this is a strange statement coming from a blogger who for the most part appears to live my life in public but I keep a large part of my life private from online prying eyes. This was primarily the reason that I never got into using Facebook on a personal basis.
I input very little information when I first signed up but yet, Facebook was able to link me up with people I’d gone to primary school with. I found it very unsettling. When the requests started coming in from some people I’d rather not stay in contact with, I fled that social platform. Then I started blogging and I suppose the fact that all of you know me through my pseudonym pretty much says it all 🙂
I’m curious if I’m the oddball in wanting to retain a large part of privacy in this information rich age, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on this 🙂
I wondered about this when we were talking about Youtube beauty gurus last week, and I suddenly realised that all your recs were wonderful, but so many people know so much about these online personalities! The rise of reality TV and homemade video blogs help fuel this and for some people, gives them the opportunity to perhaps, show off. Not overtly so, but covertly.
I have noticed sometimes that some photographs which would be better viewed privately end up online in public photo albums. I have seen people show pictures of the houses where they live, complete with address or if there is no address, the photo is of the house address. Worse are car number plates complete with the full car plate. How many people know that a simple search of a car number plate can disclose your home address? Some of us may not intend it, but the fact is, this sort of information can be harmful.
I have also seen people list their phone numbers online and photographs of their families. In many ways, I get it. Online, we can turn our humdrum mundane lives into an example of the glamorous life – parties, clubs, good eats, happy families … but that sort of information can be used against us or even be used to track us down.
For myself, I try where possible to keep my private life private. There are some things I prefer not to discuss or disclose. I suppose you could say that where I can, I keep things general and generic. Nothing on family, where I live, what I own and what I do. I sometimes feel like Clark Kent plodding away at the Daily Planet in his day job, until it is time to switch over to the glamorous life as Superman. Haha! 😀 It took me a long time to decide to upload my photos on the blog. I realise that the web hasn’t imploded because of it (haha!) but its still something I prefer not to pepper my blog with, and I usually only share photos where necessary.
In this day of sharing and oversharing, I realise much of how I personally operate is pretty old-fashioned 🙂 Its a personal choice I made and one I am not likely to waver on. I’m not saying its the right nor proper thing to do. I can tell you that it does stunt growth as a blogger but its the private path I’ve chosen to walk down.
So, I’m curious. how private or public are you on your social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or your blog?
Paris B
I can understand why you want to keep your private life private and it’s respect from me all the way how you go about it.
For sure, my FB account is to only family members and close friends – filters are up for each one of them. It’s a pain in the tooshie maintaining it but definitely worth the peace of mind. Instagram only sees photos – not much description, definitely not with names.
I use pseudonyms for everyone in my family, especially for the mini trolls I have. I try not to reveal current locations – if I have to post about an event, I usually wait until it’s over and after a few days before posting anything. I guess in short, I try to keep things as generic as possible but sometimes it does slip my mind, especially when I tend to ramble on and on and on … like now. Duh, right?!
Using pseudonyms especially for family on a blog is a smart thing to do. Especially for kids too. Don’t know who’s reading/watching, these days! Like you, I don’t reveat current locations too! Sometimes when I tag a photo on Instagram, I tag it just before I leave haha! That way I WAS there but AM not there anymore 😀
I’m probably one of those very few left that do not have FB. I used to have it but i deleted it after a while. Like you i’m a very private person. I have twitter but I hardly tweet, more for just reading tweets from the people & celebrities that I like. I always use a pseudonym when i go on forums, write comments etc and I prefer it that way. Friends won’t be able to know what I’m doing currently with my life if they do not keep in close contact or talk to me. I like this privacy that I have, and the friends that I keep in touch with are the ones that I really want to be friends with 🙂
Well said, Grace! I sometimes feel that I don’t have to know everything that’s going on in my friends’ lives. That’s what catching up in person or email or even whatsapp is for. I suppose I do have to maintain some sort of social media profile for the blog but that’s pretty much all its for. Personally, I’m nowhere on social media 😀
I keep my FB profile very private. Nobody can do a search on my name (in that little search box). However, they can still try to add me when they are a friend of a friend. Oh well… i normally just ignore. People like… an insurance agent who look after policies taken by my papa, my close friend’s male friend who’s going after her, etc… These days, if you want to share photos, there are so many other apps that you can create chat groups with certain people, instead of disclosing to everyone in Facebook.
Nowadays I treat my FB as game central (badddd!!!) and to browse around updates from other people… haha. We have knowingly and unknowingly left behind our digital footprints. Fallen into the wrong hands, it will come back to haunt us in later years.
I still remember the movie “Eagle Eyes”… it is so surreal and it might already be happening (in the states, at least).
I was playing FB games for a while – OMG Cafe World! – but I told myself I’d stop once I hit a certain level and then I did 🙂 I don’t doubt FB has its uses but I guess its just not a place I want to be in 🙂
People are always so shocked when I say I don’t have facebook and even more shocked when I explain why- they seem to think I’m paranoid. Well, I just let them. I find it scary how much people are willing to put online. I think it is good to be careful. We can still share personal information without sharing sensitive personal information. In my 8 years of blogging I’ve never posted a single picture of myself or anyone else online. I’ve never put my surname. I’ve never stated my true location let alone address or telephone. I have a personal blog and I’m willing to talk about my personal life- but I’m careful to censor out all those little things that can be used to track me. I did make mistakes when I first started out when I was much younger and did not think as much about consequences though and I do regret that- as those things can probably be traced :/ But at least I learned through those mistakes.
I’m the same as you, C. I am a little perturbed at how open people feel about sharing and revealing all about their lives. Even on blogs! I think them brave, but I also wonder if it isn’t a little unwise. Still, I believe it always pays to be a little careful and a little circumspect. We never know who’s out there reading.
I try to keep a “low profile” on FB and I only show pictures of my nails and my pet. Pretty much everywhere I use my first name, country and city but not my last name, birth place, full residence address etc.
I do not feel the need to disclose personal information on social media, although I *may* have given my phone numbers for people I talked with for years on a forum to call me for directions in an emergency (to help them with their pets).
Right now I am thinking of starting a blog, and I do not think I will go so public as some people I see.
Also, is it not really dangerous to show your address on your blog/page but then announce when you will be out for vacation and for how long? I do not think I am being paranoid here…
I’m even thinking of getting a spare phone number just for people to contact me and for me to use to screen all the scam callers or those spam text messages you get when you have to give your number for anything LOL I did think it very dangerous to show one’s address and car number plate on a blog or facebook page… but apparently, not everything thinks so 😛
Great topic, Paris. I’m a newbie blogger so it’s interesting to hear the views/ experiences of you and your readers/ fellow bloggers on this. I guess it all comes down to what makes each of us comfortable.
Absolutely, ShopGirl 🙂 Reveal as much or as little as you’d feel comfortable doing so because there are no real rules, but I do think a little privacy is important for personal safety 🙂 Good luck with your blog!
I don’t Facebook. I used to but found the requests from ‘friends’ of the past rather annoying. I find it somewhat intrusive when someone I don’t know well says, ‘Oh I saw the pics of you at such and such restaurant with X, Y,Z…how was the dish?’ Why do I need to share that?
I use a psuedonym for myself online. I don’t think what I do by day is something that needs to be shared- it’s not that interesting! I don’t post pics of myself (beyond a hand/arm) on Instagram because I’m no model! I have been told I’m quite private by others – something I disagree with, because I’ll answer 98% of questions, I just don’t feel the need to broadcast the minutae of my life!
I think you summed it up nicely ” I’ll answer 98% of questions, I just don’t feel the need to broadcast the minutae of my life!” I fully agree! I don’t mind addressing questions put to me on a specific topic but I don’t see the need to tell people where I am and what I’m doing at every minute of the day as some people do.