Not A Stalker

As social media sites gain more and more users they also gain more and more power. They become something “everybody is on”. Putting it like that almost makes it seem like a drug that humans are hooked on. And like a drug many social media users have a hard time not using; some users even have to resort to blocking a site or the Internet as a whole just to get a break from it. This obsession over social media sites fascinates me and makes me question why they are so amazing or addictive.

The answer to the addiction lies in connection with privacy and surveillance. People like attention and many desire to have a high social status. Like celebrities, social media users willingly give up a great deal of their privacy. Why? Privacy must mean something, after all the right to privacy was written into the Constitution. Yet, why do so many people give away their right, but make a big deal when something gets out that they don’t want seen?

My answer for this social media popularity is that people believe when they sign up for a site they will still have total control over their lives and will be able to use that to their advantage. They think they can create a persona online that people will like and only tell others information that will make look how they want to be seen. They don’t think unwanted information will get out, or information will be stolen or used against them. People want to be like celebrities; they want their lives to seem important to others and want to feel special because others can see what is going on in their lives.

However, people can get caught up in this sharing craze. Too much can slip out and sometimes it can harm a person. Because social media sites act as a Panopticon in the way that a vast amount of people can view you, yet (unless you have the skills) you don’t know who is watching. Now people are warned about posting certain things like pictures of them partying it up. Sure the photos might make them seem ‘cool’ to their peers, but it can harm their personal life. Also, people might want to share almost everything about them including their birthday, location, history, etc. But by sharing too much people become vulnerable to identity theft.

But this information and realization unfortunately won’t change much. People find humor in the fact that someone can see what one’s up to 24/7. What one might have called a stalker ten years ago now might call a ‘friend’. Social media users think they have power, but who really has it?