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www.natashapage.com for me, art and photography.

Wednesday 22 October 2008

Photos on the Internet

People have very different opinions on putting their photos up on the big wide web, and I'm just kind of curious about it (sorry, I really can't think of how to phrase this well).

I know youngsters are discouraged from it by their parents for safety reasons, to protect them from paedos and fraud and the like, and my parents feel exactly the same, even now, and I'm 22! - they flipped out when I told them about facebook, which i found hilarious! saying it's not safe, people could steal my identity and I'd be arrested and god knows whate else.

I dunno... I'm very incautious about using my photo on the net, and possibly this is a bad thing, I dunno, but the way I see it, is that... ok: so hundreds, possibly thousands of strangers will see my photo on the internet every day- some of them may know me in person, but a majority of them won't... but I can sit in a lecture at uni, or walk around bluewater shopping centre, or walk through Waterloo station during rush hour, and hundreds, possibly thousands of strangers will see me in the flesh - some of them may know me, but a majority of them wont..... so I personally don't really see the difference, apart from the fact that one me is in 4D and breathing, and the other me is considerably smaller, 2D and made of pixels.

But also, at the same time, I talk to anyone and everyone anyway - real or pixellated, so I dunno what that says about me... it could be a student thing, because all the students I know talk to absolutely everyone from generally chatting to little old ladies on the bus to asking punk rockers in Camden Market how they get their hair to stick up like that (I've even asked them myself!) or asking hells angels if we can try on their jackets and have a photo taken with them- and the internet to me is just an extension of that, but isn't limited to London or Kent - I know people who live all over the world and I consider them all my friends, and I'd never have got the opportunity to meet them all if it wasn't for the net. All my friends at home know what I look like, so I don't see why other people should be spared the same punishment.

Obviously personal details like phone numbers and the like I'd never give out over the internet willy-nilly coz that is just STUPID (I had a go at one of my friends about that when she started getting wierd phone calls - christ woman, what do you expect?!?) but apart from maybe legal reasons, like if you're a victim of a crime or a criminal or in witness protection or some such thing, which is completley understandable, also, if you're just shy, and shy about your appearence, then that is absolutely understandable too; but in general terms, I don't really get what the difference is between a stranger on the street or on a bus seeing you in real life, and a stranger from, say, Italy, seeing your photo on the internet.... am I making any sense here?

I'm just kind of waffling and hoping I get my point across somehow coz I dunno how to say it more conscisely.

Basically, I'm just interested in how other people see this same issue.. is it a generation thing maybe? because none of my friends are particularly fussed about having their photos put on the net (as long as they look nice and there are no 'nostril' shots or double chins). Although parents try to be very strict and warn their kids about the dangers of the net; possibly as an act of rebellion? I don't know, but girls particularly around 14-17 have been very criticised on the news not so long ago for encouraging paedophilia by putting provocative photos of themselves up on places like myspace. In my opinion, they shouldn't be repressed into not using such sites at all, but should be encouraged to exercise a lot more discretion in their choice of photos.... because it portrays them (and young girls in general) in a very bad light, and the world is a corrupt enough place as it is without them helping to encourage it, whereas my parents, and even my cousins who are in their 40s so are by no means 'old' are very hesitant about anything to do with the internet! even places like ebay and amazon, which EVERYONE uses, they are extremely hesitent about, expecting a call from their bank any minute saying someone has stolen their card details and bought a ferrari in Hawaii or something.

I personally think the internet is a wonderful thing and a great way to link like-minded people. It opens up a whole new way to research, 'network' I believe is the savvy term for it, and to share your interests - whether it be model train collecting and pylon spotting (yes, there is such a thing apparently) to sky diving and extreme motorsports.

so... yeah... what are your views on this?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

While I don't particularly care who sees my face on the internets, I am much, much more guarded about any type of significant personal information being leaked onto the internet. Hell, I don't think I even used my real name for YEARS. After almost two decades on the internets, a girl is a bit cynical and jaded ;)

But as for generational gaps, maybe. Though, I know my Mother has embraced Facebook wholeheartedly (She's 69) and I often find myself telling her to take images OFF Facebook. She likes to put asstastic photos of her daughter on the internets. ;) My Father doesn't really even know how to use email.

I think a lot of folks are still playing catch up with how fast, frequent and readily available information is on the internets. It can be pretty intimidating, methinks.