While we’ve touched on the issue of privacy and Facebook during our other issues I wanted to talk more about the idea of privacy for my generation and the recent decade.

First, I want to point out the number of social networking outlets we have. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Weheartit, Livejournal, Foursquare. This small list does not even include underground websites that haven’t reached Facebook like fame. Now, let’s assess the amount of information that we voluntarily release by using these sites. For almost all of these sites save the blogger platforms (Pinterest, Weheartit, Livejournal, Tumblr) you are releasing information that a decade ago would have been a no no.

My point with all of these examples is to point out that while society has become so lax about releasing personal information we’ve also become more intense about how that information is released and what is done with it. This in all fairness is a valid issue. But what I really want to discuss is what this all means for the definition of privacy.

According to the dictionary definition of the word, privacy is “the state of being free from public attention.” Right. Free from public attention — that phrase in itself seems to contradict the very idea of social networking. By the above definition, people who crave privacy should opt-out of using such services (which people in fact do). However, for those people that don’t opt out and still complain about privacy, why do they do that? It’s not because they don’t want to be a part of the social networking culture, they just want to be more protected.

This is why I think our interpretation of privacy needs to be revamped. This is how I imagine the definition of privacy today:

“The state of being free from public attention with the exception of those who I give access to my information.”

A bit wordy but I think it might work. While it may sound as if I am making fun of the idea of privacy (which I am a little), I’m also being completely serious about the idea of changing definitions. We have entered a new era where information is not just kept to ourselves but can easily be available to everyone. Because of this I think we as members of society need to reevaluate what we want in terms of privacy and what we mean as public.