Let’s face it – there is no such thing as anonymity or privacy online. Accept the fact that you can’t hide behind the username “chipmonkgiggles_23”. Your moves are being tracked, sorted, and stored; under your real name.
Individuals are able to identify who is behind these usernames at the same rate privacy settings on Facebook are declining. On top of that, Google has the memory of an elephant and never forgets.
But does it really matter?
Is the digital generation collectively guilty of not thinking ahead, revealing too much and distributing online content considered by some to be scandalous and morally unacceptable? Or is it possible they know exactly what they are doing; don’t have a problem with it, and have no concept of an expectation of privacy?
There's been much speculation about the negative ramifications on the future of the digital generation due to their lax value system and poor judgement. “Older” people (say anyone over the age of 25?) constitute the generational digital divide by assuming the younger generation should uphold certain standards of comportment and morality when online or suffer the consequence of being unemployable. The older generation have always known it’s important to separate their role of a responsible and virtuous employee, from their role as a weekend warrior.
It seems the more adults insist that it’s unacceptable and inappropriate to share personal information and photos online, the more young people will reveal their private lives on the internet. Can one compare the shock and outrage over the posting of “scandalous” pictures from last week’s party to the vulgarity and indecency of Elvis Presley’s sultry lips and swinging hips? Will the outrage over the changing moral values of the digital generation become accepted as common place and the culture shift documented in the annals of popular culture books?
Mitch Joel sums it up in his book Six Pixels of Separation:
“..as more and more people mature and enter the workforce, we won’t be able to judge the person who has those wild party pictures posted on Flickr negatively because everybody will have them – including you (and then who will you hire?).”
I’ve noticed a disconcerting trend lately; more and more articles about social media burnout. This isn’t surprising considering the sheer volume of information that speeds toward us at an exponential pace, making it even harder to sort the wheat from the chaff.
People who work in the field of social media remind me of the early pioneers and explorers of the new world. We are toiling in a field of tweets in order to clear the trees and make the ground fertile for growing a sustainable social media plan.
No one has come before us. There is no road to follow. We are the trailblazers and greenhorns of this new world order.
The enormity of this task may make us clamp down and try to force order and calmness on this mess. With social media, that is like taking an aggressive bird of prey like the Accipiter hawk, and trying to put it in a cage. Often times we find ourselves on the fast-moving train of social media distraction. Without realizing it, we move further and further away from home base until we can barely see the platform that we started from.
Here are 6 tips to stop our swashbuckling ways:
1. Apply calm attention versus worried attention to the task at hand. Realize that it is possible to stay positive, serene and inspired in the midst of chaos. Do one thing at a time. Go slow and start small. Let the hare pass you.
2. Be mindful of what you consume on-line. It’s easy to fall into the “I have to learn this, or I should know more about that” trap. With every good intention, we try to learn everything. Remember to maintain balance. None of us are perfect.
3. Put down books like “Socialnomics” or “Six Pixels of Separation” and pick up a fiction book. Not only will this clear your mind but it will improve your writing style.
4. Put away your pride and benchmark. Don’t re-create the wheel. Use other people’s knowledge.
5. Take time to know what you really want and need from social media. What are your goals? If you aren’t getting them – move on. Don’t look back . You are no longer going in that direction.
6. Be kind to yourself when you need it most. Working in the field of social media means we are constantly trying to keep up and we are continually propelled into the future. Be wisely selfish and know when enough is enough.
“Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.” – Sir Isaac Pitman. Taken from the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
Let’s face it – there is no such thing as anonymity or privacy online. Accept the fact that you can’t hide behind the username “chipmonkgiggles_23”. Your moves are being tracked, sorted, and stored; under your real name.
