Overexposed in the Blogosphere was a really interesting post about from a few years back. Are we really that overexposed online? Should we fear overexposure? Have we thrown our Miranda rights out of the window because of this? That everything we say or do online will be used against us?
I do believe that one of the reasons why blogging is so huge here in the Philippines is because of our culture of gossip. We love to be in other people’s personal business. I still stand by my theory that among the reasons why serial killers aren’t commonplace here in the Philippines is that everyone wants to know your personal business – nosy neighbors, colleagues, taxi drivers, etc… And for some reason I do think that we do find a degree of satisfaction sharing our own personal gossip as well.
Some warn that a distasteful online persona would affect career prospects and such efforts. Or maybe there’s truth in the government monitoring you through your blogs and Facebook pages. All this Big Brother bullshit thanks to Google. I guess there’s little to no more room for wanton exhibitionism on the Web. Unless, of course, you’re an online “entertainer.” The Internet is still largely for adult entertainment anyway.
It’s a bit disturbing, really that some people don’t differentiate between a person and his/her online persona. Has the line between reality and virtual become so blurred that the attitudes you project online are what’s considered your true self? Two words for you people – online dating. Let’s see if you won’t exercise the benefit of doubt.
Here are a series very interesting academic articles on the topic on the Psychology of Cyberspace.
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Perhaps a bit of a change on this blog for the year. I’ve actually transferred all of my personal posts to a private journal to which only I have access. I guess there’s value in not having that much dirt aired online.