Privacy! What Is It In Today's World?

Privacy! What Is It In Today's World?

My eldest brother gave a speech in the late 70's that won a national speech competition. In it, he reminisces about our childhood, joking about not knowing what the word private meant. Really! He didn't know. 

Growing up with eleven kids under one roof we were forced to share a bathroom; there were two to three of us in every bedroom.... privacy is not something we had. Walking in and out of the bathroom on each other was a norm for lack of any possible other solution. 

So what is Privacy? Here are two different definitions:

 A state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people

The state of being free from public attention

When reading these, I ask you this. Is the internet private? If your answer is yes, I would like to ask you if you have been reading the Newspaper?

In the New York Times article Is Snooping on Teenagers Ever O.K.? Lisa Damour states she would never spy on teens and would never advise it. I understand this but then again what is spying? Spying is secretly obtaining information and this you should not do. If you tell your kids you will check their phones and browsers you are not spying! You are in no way obtaining information secretly. Companies check their employee's browsers; they are not spying, they are protecting their interests and are upfront. What's the difference? 

I agree that going behind your kids back is not advisable, but this article is giving parents an excuse not to do their jobs; namely to guide our children through their first years online, to protect them and teach them ethical behavior. Lay down the laws parents, communicate and tell them you will check because the internet is not private and you are not a spy.

—Allison Ochs Social Worker M.S.W. , Coach, Expat, Mother of three, Wife