Editorial #127 Social Media and Confidentiality
Social media is becoming the scourge of society. I have become unwittingly addicted to Facebook and I detest it. I have better things to do than to argue, with someone I will never meet, about points that have been made millions of times before, with little chance of changing anyone’s mind. It also provides data to be mined by advertisers.
This communication form violates all our core values as it allows lies, unfairness, unsustainable systems and hypocrisy to be used with complete anonymity. There is no accountability or intelligent dialogue happening as these conversations are emotional, usually void of facts and could with be a brick wall or a computer programed with incendiary talking points.
This dynamic happens because the slippery slope of privacy. It allows conversations to occur with no downside. It is like the masked balls of Europe’s high society where commoners mixed with royalty, acting out and saying things they would never do if their true identity were known.
Social media and communication providers promote extreme privacy as a feature and advantage. Privacy is a double edged sword that is both great and very dangerous. It has many conveniences, but reputations can be destroyed and assets stolen anonymously. We fear having very private parts of our life revealed but it also protects bad actors. I addressed this in Editorials #110 and #120.
In a technological society we must be prepared to compromise our privacy to keep what we cherish most, our reputation and integrity. Bad behavior on social media occurs because even good people will act badly if they feel no one will find out. The definition of integrity is: Living exactly the same way if everything we do is put on the front page of the newspaper.
The demand for privacy has also infected our census taking, voting, social media, financial dealings and social intercourse. If someone has dishonest motives, this is a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a Trojan horse. It only takes one or a small group of these cowards to do extreme damage.
Since the Pandora’s Box is already open, the government already knows everything about us. The only solution is to be prepared to have complete openness when communicating on any social network. If we expect security when trying to vote or giving reviews on business, we must all be prepared to be fully identified to participate.
Those who post on social media with pseudo names or no identification are cowards and violate the words of Christ who said: “He who has no sin can cast the first stone.” If someone has enough guts to say it, they must let the world know they said it. All saints have a past and all sinners have a future, but to have the right to free speech requires the understanding that things must be fair and have integrity as that is the only thing that really matters. All the problems in the world are a result of someone cheating and trying not to be caught.
This is Keith Kube wishing you the best in making the world a better place.
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Keith has a regular commentary on WJAG 780 radio at 7:40 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Check his website www.keithkube.com for past editorials.
