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ISSUES: Privacy
Chapter 3: ‘The Internet of Things’
music videos and the like. An
environment that idolises nudity
certainly contributes to children
seeing such behaviour as the norm.
Privacy, however, is not just about
nudity and sex.
Given the exponential growth of
reality shows and social media,
children now have unprecedented
access to the inner thoughts and
personal actions of others. Children
are growing up watching real people
freely share their deep personal ideas,
experiences, opinions and actions.
The very purpose of these mediums
is to encourage such sharing of
information!
Children watch everyday people in
the Big Brother house openly discuss
their sexual experiences, develop
friendships, go to the toilet, get
ready after their morning shower,
and explain deep personal childhood
issues.
Similarly, they watch
Survivor
and
The
Bachelor
where people can reveal
the darker side of their ambitions,
worldviews and ways of dealing with
others. Their revelations are under the
guise of competition; however, they
offer subliminal messages about what
we can and should share publicly.
Consistently watching others reveal
themselves on screen feeds children’s
understanding of what is private
information and what isn’t. Its impact
is strengthened because children
watch these revelations on their
personal screen such as their tablet or
mobile, which can make it more of an
intimate, one-to-one connection for
the child.
Generation gap
Add to this, the dynamic stage in
life young people are at, which
is
characterised
by
risk-taking
behaviour. This combination results
in the understanding that sharing
what many adults might consider to
be private ideas, is really just part of
life.
In previous generations it was
assumed that the average person
wouldn’t want to give up privacy. But
for this generation, giving up privacy
for a social life, fame (or infamy for
some), easy access to shopping and
studying or working from home is the
norm.
Children’s
penchant
for
online
sharing is a much larger cultural
transformation than it’s given credit
for. The whole idea of what is private
and what is public is being disrupted
and reshaped by new screen-driven
interests and activities.
There is a need to move away from
simply judging and reprimanding
for their online sharing habits. There
is always a need for safety and
awareness campaigns, although it
is also important to move beyond
older and outmoded views of privacy
so that we can actually understand
young people’s privacy negotiations.
In this way we might have more of
a chance to meaningfully support
negotiations that are transparent,
equitable and foster children’s well-
being.
14 April 2015
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The
above
information
is
reprinted with kind permission
from
The Conversation
. Please
visit
for further information.
© 2010–2017,
The Conversation Trust (UK)
