Differences between your Cyber life and your Real time life
I have two related questions. Please hang with me as I explain:
As I read the thread wherein hundreds of TFP'ers have revealed their real time (r/t) names, I thought about another "unmasking" that I participated in this week.
Let me explain: A few days ago I was looking at amateur porn over on another board. I opened a post with several photos of a teenage girl in her bedroom. In the photos she was naked, with her legs spread wide, fingering herself. Absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. On the wall behind her was a whiteboard with a full name written on it. It was the name of a female. Also, pinned to the wall was a banner with the name of a high school. I was bored and without much thought I googled the information I found in the pics. I just wanted to see where it would lead. Well, let me tell you! Within seconds I had found her deviantART page, her hometown, her MySpace page, and her real first name. I found that she was underage when the photos were made. I discovered that she is active in Jr. ROTC in her high school. It appears that she comes from a fairly religious home. In other snapshots there is a religious artifact hanging on the wall. A blog and other photos reveals that she represented her church in a statewide talent show last year. With no effort at all I know way more about this girl's life than any stranger should ever know!
At this point you are probably thinking how very creepy this is-- I know it creeps me out. If I can so easily find out the personal details of this girl's life, so can someone else; and someone with bad intentions. What if some kind of stalker, freak, or perv chooses to do what I did and googles the info in the nude photos? This girl could be in trouble. Other questions come to mind: Does she know that the photos are online? Has it gotten out at her high school and among her friends and family? How has it affected her life?
Do you have any thoughts about this story?
As I was thinking about the implications of how easy it was for me to uncover personal details of this girl's life, I saw the TFP thread wherein members have revealed their real names.
From the beginning of my life online, I've believed that the great advantage of cyber existence is anonymity. Here I can do and say things that I could never do and say in many r/t circumstances. For example, I enjoy porn, which is a fact I wouldn't like to be broadcast throughout my neighborhood or in my office.
My question: Do you do anything in your cyber life that would cause trouble in your real time life? Do you reveal personal details here that remain secret in r/t?
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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
Last edited by Aladdin Sane; 10-20-2007 at 09:24 PM..
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