Privacy Online

My mother passed away a little over a decade ago. The only reason I bring this up is because I don't think she would be able to handle the amount of personal information that is shared online today. We rarely discussed my budding "social media" (the term hadn't even been widely adopted) presence in high school and early college, but there were a few times where she'd approach me -- probably after reading an article or seeing a news segment about Facebook or Myspace-- telling me that she knew I had these accounts and how she hoped I wasn't sharing any information about myself. To her, the internet meant easy access to peoples' identities, and rampant fraud. meanwhile, I was posting song lyrics and telling people to get cotton candy in the student union. Besides identity theft, I'm sure she feared that something I posted could impact my ability to find a job after graduating. 

I was never really the type of kid to post things anyone would consider incriminating (frankly, I didn't really do anything that would be considered incriminating either!) on the contrary, I consider myself a fairly private person; I don't always tell everyone what's going on in my head, and I often keep my opinions to myself when among people I do not know well. However, I strangely do enjoy sharing information online. From my college days through the present, I have always enjoyed and appreciated being a resource for others. To me, that means leading by example, which in this realm mostly means social things like attending events, or museums, or even protests -- anything where I am highlighting somewhere positive that I feel other people can be a part of. I feel I am at by best when I am supporting others publicly, and giving them an opportunity to receive exposure. 

I am by no means an "influencer;" my meager reach primarily touches people I already know. But there's something incredibly validating when someone tells you they tried a restaurant because you tagged it in a story, or when your boss tells someone else at work that you're the person to ask about things to see or do in town. It sounds silly (and looks ridiculous here in writing), but that's simply the "social" part about social media that I appreciate the most. Having an outlet to express your thoughts and opinions, and to share those with others, can be incredibly cathartic. However, it's still important to remember that all of those littler interactions -- geotags, live updates on your whereabouts, and your affiliations with organizations and people -- are ultimately personal information that ties back to you.