Goodbye Privacy

Imagine you sit in a coffee shop and then you see this amazing guy. What do you do? Check Facebook if you find him and some information about him? Or do you even just use a simple app and write something on his own Facebook page, so he might notice you? This is possible if you use an open WiFi hotspot like the one in the coffee shop for surfing the internet. You only need a special app on your phone and then you can post something on someone else's site in her name. You can also read her emails or fill her shopping cart while she's shopping on Amazon.

We wanna look closely, but what do we expect to see?
pic by Beverly & Pack

The development is vast. But as good as technology is right now, there are also many risks. Just last week, while I was watching Modern Family, I thought of that again. They wanted to sell a house to a special customer and because no other guy was interested, they used all kinda social media sites to figure out what he likes and what not, that they can decorate the house just the way he wants it. But at the end, Cameron talks about the dog door they made, and he said that it would be perfect for his dog Otis. So that confused the guy: total strangers know that he has a dog named Otis.

How would you feel in such a situation? Someone you never saw and met before knows everything about you. That's the price a celebrity has to pay. She is followed everywhere she goes, and then there are pics of her on the internet, pics she's not even aware of were taken and published. And people come to her, kissing and hugging her, talking like they would know her for years. Some "fans" follow their stars to get closer to them, they wanna know everything. But imagine someone follows you and no matter where you go, you can't be sure who's watching you. Scary, isn't it?

Some people post everything on Facebook. Last week I talked to a friend that maybe in 50 years our grandchildren can read what we did these days. Like my grandchild will come to me, say: Granny, 50 years ago, you were in that coffee shop with this handsome man, remember? And I will just look at my sweetie kid, wondering if I ever told her about it. My friend said till then Facebook won't exist anymore, but I said that all the information won't be lost, they will still be on the internet, because what once was there, will never be deleted.

But why is it important to many guys to tell everyone every little detail like where they are? They write now I'm with Max and Milly at McDonald's, two hours later, the three are at Burger King, then Starbucks, or whereever, and some guys even post when they do their business in the bathroom. 50 years later his grandchild might be asking: were you successful? and he will probably just be confused.

is the next step that we all have a QR code and people can come with their phones, scan your code and know everything about you?
pic by Richard Cabrera

When last year college started and I added a few of my fellow students on Facebook, one was pretty scared when I knew her middle name and birthday. She was shocked, asked me how I know these things, coz it was our first week at college and she didn't tell me, and then I said it's on your Facebook page. So many guys are not aware that they put all these information about themselves on the internet. We become more and more like a glass. It scares us that total strangers know everything about us, but we make this possible. That's why I don't put too private things on the internet and why I don't use open WiFi hotspots. I don't want people to fill my Amazon cart with 5 TV sets, and then when I place my order I bought not only a book and a game, but also these 5 TV sets.

Now you say okay it's kinda scary when people know stuff about me, but I like to know stuff about new people, to figure out if I can like him or not. So when I meet someone I google him and try to figure out what he is like, to know the people he spend time with, and so on. Then I can decide if I really wanna know him in real life or not. It's just to make sure that he's not dangerous or something. But some years ago this wasn't possible, and isn't it better to get in touch with the real person and not her virtual accounts? I love to get in touch with people using the internet, but I still prefer to meet people in real life, that's how you really get to know someone.

Back in the coffee shop this man walks to me, tells me stuff about my family, knows my brother's name, where I live, knows my friends, where I love to be, what I love to watch and what music I like. It's like he knows everything about me, though I never met him before. No, you don't have to be a star anymore to be in such a situation. Luckily this didn't really happen to me, but thinking about it makes me shiver.

The amazing Garfunkel & Oates have a song called Google, singing about using the internet to find out as much as possible about someone:

Do you use Google to find out something about a person you just met? What information do you share on social media sites?

The Eye App

What would we do without our iPhone or smartphone? We use this not only to text or telephone. It was invented for that, mostly to call someone wherever you are. Just a mobile telephone. But nowadays we use it to take pictures, make videos, surf the internet or listen to music. With the smartphone a new generation of telephones started. You can download applications that help you in everyday life.

Some years ago you used to read books, had a map in your car and lots of recipe books in your kitchen. Now there is an app for all of these things. You can also write your shopping list, look for the next grocery store, book hotel rooms, use a flashligth and so on. So we have everything in one device. But what do we do without it? What is when it’s broken?

I had one girl in my class some years ago, who took her smartphones (she had two) everywhere she went, even under the shower. I think this is a huge addiction and luckily I am not one of that kind. I can go out without my smartphone – I don’t do it very often, but I have no problem with that. I mostly use it for calling someone, I also play some games while sitting on a train to college. I also have to admit that I like the navigation system, and that I sometimes listen to music.

Which apps do we really need and which are unnecessary?

But for the last thing I still prefer my mp3 player, I don’t like reading a book on a screen, and I don’t surf the internet – only sometimes for checking my mails. There are apps for everything now. I still wait until it is replacing something what we can’t imagine of – like our eyes. But I think my waiting's over now. And no, I am not talking about Google Glasses – the glasses which Google filled with lots of apps and presented this week. No, the app I mean does already exist – in some way.

Last week I listened to a discussion on a German radio station about concerts and what most people firstly do there: take their smartphones and start filming. The whole time, they film the concert and do not get any of the atmosphere. Later they put it on youtube – and when they watch and share the video, they firstly see what has happened. So they don’t see it with their own eyes, they see it with the camera of their phone. But in my mind, that’s not what I wanna have when I go to a concert. I wanna feel the atmosphere because this is unique and can’t be filmed. If I wanna see a bad quality video with also not that good sound, I can save the money for the concert and watch a video of someone else. So I really ask myself why it is so important for some guys to put everything on their phone. Just for a few clicks on youtube? Sometimes it is better to save some moments 'only' in your memory, your brain has more capacity than your phone and it can’t be broken that easily.

Would you film a concert or show you go to? What do you use your smartphone for? Do you think some people can live without it? Do you also use the ‘eye app’?