Is there even such a thing called privacy these days?

I recently got a Facebook friend request from my mother. I immediately declined. Why would i want my mother as a friend on Facebook? and secondly Why would she want to be connected to me? I asked her shortly after i rejected her. She told me she just wanted to see what i was up too, along with all my other aunties and uncles who had tried to send me a request.

In saying this, I have no problem with being friends with them, i just feel as though it is an invasion of my privacy. Surveillance was a foreign term to me before taking this class. After talking in tutorial discussions about this term, i realised how i could identity with it personally.

Social networking sites scream SURVEILLANCE to me. Alot of my younger cousins have to add their mum and dad so they know exactly who they are talking to and what they are talking about. This is totally justifiable as more and more teenagers are being targeted by pedophiles and bullies. There was a recent story on the news about a girl who was subjected to commiting suicide as part of a practical joke that was made by a group of bullies at her school.

For my friends and I, the term surveillance can be linked to numerous things. Firstly, Facebook is a great site for us to monitor our potential suitors,ex boyfriends and current boyfriends. As long as your connected with them you can see their msg history and who they have added. Sounds stalker i know but its the truth.

Twitter has evolved into a space where fans can go and get up-to date information about what they're favourite celebs a doing. For celebrities, Twitter is a space where they can market their name and also advertise new movies, albums and business ventures etc.

In saying this, people shouldnt air their dirty laundrey online. It is just going to eventually hit you in the behind as employers are now able to access facebook content tracing back to your highschool years. In relation to the title of this post, i pose the question if there even is a thing called privacy these days? With the introduction and popularity of social networking sites, more personal content is available to the public. Privacy settings can help protect you, however it is up to the user to chose who they interact with and what sites they use online.