You are Never Alone

Out with some friends the other night, the conversation got around to how easy it was to keep in touch with family and friends. My husband sent an SMS to our daughter overseas, and minutes later she replied. The day before we had been having a conversation with our son in law via MS Messenger.

In contrast, 34 years ago I was in Darwin on the eve of Cyclone Tracy and as far as my parents were concerned I then disappeared into a communications black hole that lasted for six weeks.
The fact that it took ages for news to filter through, that post cards from overseas took weeks to arrive, was a time lag we accepted. Now if they don’t reply to your SMS you panic.

The conversation somehow got onto word definitions and we began discussing the semantic differences between awesome and awful. Why does one mean wonderful and the other, terrible? When did awful lose the e? Our friend whipped out his Blackberry, and did what you always do when having coffee in a cafe at the beach, consulted Google. On the way there he had been using Google maps to check where a particular road went.

I have been on holidays for the last 10 days and I have to admit that the computer has been on most of the day, even when I’ve gone out shopping. (Not a very good habit to cultivate after my last posting about Green ICT!) I am used to being connected in some way almost all the time. If my mobile phone goes flat I feel bereft, just a little less secure.

So that’s why this caught my eye today:

Personal computers, once self-contained processing machines, have become permanently connected devices. Most software also requires an Internet link to work properly; in fact, the latest trend in “cloud computing” moves software off the computer altogether. The evolution in cellphones has been even more dramatic. These were once analog devices designed exclusively for making phone calls; now they are data-centric mini-computers with integrated satellite-tracking capability. With each new gadget we buy and use, we make a choice to further integrate our lives into the public Internet. That decision has enormous implications for our conventional understanding of privacy and personal space.

It is part of an article headed Tracking; The digital devices you use to organize your life are keeping very detailed Notes. Is Personal technology worth its cost in personal privacy?
But, as the article points out, our digital footprint, and our digital habits, bring with them some threats to our privacy. Read the article.