Privacy in the Digital Age

Westerners might find it amusing to witness a Middle Eastern man waiting and standing outside Victoria’s Secret, the well-known lingerie outlet, for their loved ones to finish their dream shop. They would witness them rushing in and out of the shop asking their loves ones to hurry up and move on. However when they notice another male entering Victoria’s world you would see signs of their faces overheating and flags of jealousy rising up high in the sky. The western man would wonder why all these warlike signals?  It signifies a different set of values. The westerners do not understand our culture or what we, the Middle Eastern men, view as privacy.

Nicole Kidman once was asked about her private life and she answered: “I like the privacy of life and I protect it quite vigilantly”.  But what is private and what is not?

How can we define privacy in the modern age we live in? Cultures of the world are overlapping each other due to globalization and the world is becoming a small village.  The internet was one of the main factors in opening the doors of different cultures to each other.  It created a world where a person in the USA can chat, read and search for information on other cultures by using the internet as an engine to discover new worlds.

The question that presents itself to most of is the following: when does my public life end and my private life start?  Different cultures assign a different meaning to a person’s private life.  Cultures around the world might have few common values and they are practiced in different ways.  Even in the Arab world, the GCC nations have a different set of values to the northern African countries such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.   We might view some things as unacceptable according to our norms and traditions.   They in turn might view our views as being outdated even though we have a lot in common, from faith to the written language.

The majority of us have social media accounts whereby we share with the rest of the world our personal information and thoughts, from Facebook to twitter to the YouTube channel.  The list goes on.  Some Apps even allow us to share with the world our last location.  So what is happening to the meaning of a private life?

The other night I was sitting with my dad and watching some news.  I was holding my smart phone and tweeting my thoughts on the news as I watched it.   My dad asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was writing a tweet to my friends.  And then he commented (in a form of a question): “Are you sharing your thoughts with the world?”  And I answered him: “Yes.”  Then he said you no longer have a private life.  “What do you mean?” I asked him. My dad’s answer was:  “Once people know what your views and thoughts are you are giving them a window to look into your private life and your words need to match reality since the public knows about it.

My father’s words of wisdom flash to the front of my mind every time I post a tweet or post something on my blog. I am giving the public the right to have assess to my world of thoughts.  This quote from Margaret Cho sums up the power on what information I would like to share with the world and govern my private life:  “Privacy and security are those things you give up when you show the world what makes you extraordinary”.

 Once your views are over the internet and in the public domain we no longer have any power or control over how far this information could reach and who is the audience. Only last week the Egyptian president spokesperson tried to explain a video clip on Youtube that was viewed by millions around the world.  But it was too late.  The horse had bolted – and his attempts to cover up caused the western nations and Europe to re-evaluate and reconsider their relationship with the ruling party in Egypt.

 To anyone who is wrestling with this question, my advice is to “walk the walk and talk the talk”.  When you share with the world your views you are giving them a window to look into your private life and private thoughts.  You need to have the right tools and the arsenal to defend your views with logic and reason. Always remember that social media platforms are a strong tool to create your brand – as long you act on what you preach.