Issues related to privacy have come to my attention, and they’re worth elaborating upon. A few days ago, when in the EMT class, students’ practical exam grades were posted on the white board. This, I said to Pete, was a violation of privacy. He agreed.

Yesterday, Pete, who was setting up his computer, remarked that it comes with features such as eye and voice recognition. Pete said, half to me, half to himself, that he was not going to put these options on his machine. This, I said to Pete, was a violation of privacy. He agreed.

Then this morning, while in the outhouse, I opened an older issue of the New Yorker, and there before me was a poem entitled “Privacy.” I read it several times, in awe, because the writer did such a good job in speaking to my, and other readers’ concerns.

More and more, our lives are becoming less private. The focal point around which this statement revolves is social media. Any time I log onto my handheld or desktop computer, I go public. And in going public, I allow any and all information about me to be disseminated to corporate entities, who sell information about me to whoever they choose. In essence, they make money off me. Yes, I do have a web page. This dispatch will go on that web page.

One of John DePriests's cows

I know for a fact that some of my photos have appeared in advertising circulars. I have friends who have had similar experiences.

The question is, why do we continue to allow this personal invasion? I’ll use Facebook as an example. Facebook, seemingly private, is very public. We humans are social beings, and as such, we want to remain connected to family members and friends. This is because we fear being disconnected and lonely. A simple phone call or email no longer suffices. We feel good when we are in communication with our 1001 best friends. Facebook, seemingly private, is public.

Problem is, Facebook is a form of media, that in being a public entity, propagates hate. There are no holds barred. It’s a forum where white supremist and the like rule. And corporate entities continue to benefit financially.

I am not passing judgement on those who text, twitter, or Facebook. I will pass judgement on those who when they visit, turn on their phones, and in the midst of a conversation, reply to a post or look at their Facebook messages. What gives? Is this the new normal? Are these individuals now so publicly attuned that they can’t engage in a one-on-one, in person conversation?

Yikes. Now if I was a Facebook user, I might, the other night, have sent a photo of a burning car to all my “friends” and asked if they knew who I might contact about getting it removed. I might then have gotten a dozen or more replies, and then spent the entire evening conversing with them about this. Instead, I mentioned this to Pete who sent an email to the landfill manager who said that a staff member would look into it. Problem possibly solved. I also did the values exchange, on the phone, with another neighbor.

I suspect that if I had posted a Facebook post, I would then have been inundated with car ads. I avoided this.

It will be interesting to see if now, I get messages in my email box, new car? Being in the subject line.

Just an experiment.

Next: 285. 10/15/19: Lightbulbs