Fame at our Fingertips

The World Wide Web is a continual source of wonderment, not only in terms of the vast selection of services available to the user, but also because of the accessibility and availability of information therein.

Many chores that at one time necessitated nipping down the high street can now be completed in the comfort of your own home. And it’s not only ticking tasks off the to-do list that can be accomplished with the help of an internet connection – other more pleasurable pursuits can happily be indulged in too.

Online shopping, watching a film, or accessing your favourite music can all be carried out at the click of a button. After all, this is the age of convenience, and we surely can’t condemn such prodigious progress.

Like most things in life, however, there always tends to be a flip-side. While the internet may generally offer a safe option for completing your personal banking, there’s no disputing the fact that your personal life may always be slightly at risk.

This digital dichotomy makes for an interesting analysis. The net allows us to interact with people from all around the world in real time, either via satellite conversations, social networking sites, or in the closed confines of a chat room.

More often than not, we offer ourselves freely to the world at large. We promote ourselves via blogs, websites, and online profiles, posting our pictures and thoughts willy-nilly in a bid to present our lives to any interested parties.

And while it may be good to talk, what would normally be our private lives does, in effect, become public property. Even prospective employers are able to check out our credentials, whether to our knowledge or otherwise. And do they really need to see the latest snapshot of a Saturday night out with the girls, Triumph bras flashed fleetingly at the camera?

We tend to lay ourselves bare with little concern for the repercussions of promiscuous photos or throwaway comments, posted on a whim by ourselves or friends. And the term ‘friend,’ when used in the context of a social networking site, is not exactly synonymous with the generally accepted meaning of the word.

So, maybe we need to be more mindful of our bearing, and behave in a way that befits this new public persona. Our cybernetic conduct ought to be a little more guarded. We may all experience our five minutes of fame, but ideally not because of a shameful snapshot!