I rode my bike past a yard a few days ago and saw four clotheslines of laundry hanging out and drying in the fresh summer air. Shirts, pants, socks, underwear - the whole family wash. I almost stopped and gave a cheer for traditional values or some such recognition of a familiar scene from years ago.
We all had clotheslines and the clean, dry clothes all had a fresh, natural smell that can only be achieved outdoors - unless a neighbor was burning leaves (I miss the smell of burning leaves too - now almost a felony within city limits).
Those of us of a certain age can even remember frozen white or red long johns hanging on the line in mid-winter. I’m not a Norman Rockwell, seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, but allow me to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going.
With your laundry on the line, folks who were overly curious could arrive at certain suppositions about your family life style based on shirts, pants, socks and underwear on display. But our laundry is mostly a private matter these days, so what is left for the overly curious?
Plenty, as it turns out. You will excuse my ignorance of details of the “social media” since you won’t find me on Facebook, Twitter, About.me, MyLife, Myspace, Faceparty, Hotlist, SocialVibe or even English, baby!, and although I like to keep my mouth shut, you won’t find me on MouthShut.com or any other of the over 500 top social network sites.
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But I understand many have broadcast their entire recent histories, including birthday parties, dates, “likes,” comments about your boss, comments about your fellow workers, pictures while drinking, pictures in your new bikini, pictures without your new bikini, vacation shots, photos of kids and grandkids, pictures of you with your prize walleye or deer, and ugly pictures of your ex-wife.
Can just anybody just tap into that history? Apparently not, but stories abound about embarrassing leaks and disclosures. Who needs to check the laundry on your clothesline if they can tap into your private network?
Some employers insist on visiting your Facebook page before they hire you. Oh my gosh. Can they do that? What if you refuse? Don’t you wish you had some shots on there of you singing with orphans or showing some handicapped child how to throw a ball?
How can all that data not be private? But it isn’t. No information is truly private in the online world. Investigators and other experts, like the FBI, know how to dig out “private” details not available to other sources. But in your own network, “friends” can forward information posted on your site. One patient suffering from depression was advised by her doctor to take a vacation and relax in a warm place. On his advice, she went to Mexico. She showed pictures of herself on Facebook, smiling and having a great time on the beach. Her insurance company somehow got hold of the pictures and cut off her coverage because the pictures proved to them that she wasn’t depressed anymore.
Can’t you delete your photos from Facebook? No. Everything that goes on the Internet stays on the Lnternet. Privacy and secrecy are illusions. The bottom line is that the social network certainly allows you to reach out to your friends and be in close touch with them and facilitates the transfer of important information, but if you’re posting anything you wouldn’t want your parents, grandparents, potential employer, respected friends, insurance company or the IRS to see (if they haven’t already) you may be hanging your dirty laundry on the line.
