The Long-term Danger of Social Networks…?

July 3, 2010 - By Laura Callow

 

While this is in no way meant as an hysterical babble, I know some may find it such. I urge you only to continue reading having been warned that it may impact your thoughts on social media – in how much you choose to share… or not. It’s an enigma in many ways.

In the second world war – not so very long ago in the grand scheme of things – anyone in Germany suspected of being a Jew was rounded up and summarily transported to a camp and most likely executed. Neighbors betrayed neighbors, friends betrayed friends – not for fun you understand, but because there was a noose around their own necks. They were known to have associated with Jews or to have ‘Jewish tendencies’ – the shops they visited, the clothes they bought. It was very easy to be caught out as an ‘accomplice’. The Nazis even had what they called ‘persils’ – ‘clean’ documents for any Jew who would turn in a fellow Jew – and how did they encourage that type of betrayal? Fear, and promises of death to family members.

The persil seekers were sent to cobblers and shoe stores. They waited for the Jews on the run to come in and get their shoes mended, and they ‘befriended’ them – and then betrayed them.

Too much knowledge shared with anyone outside of your closest family meant the camps. It was an environment of fear, treachery and death.

That was 70 years ago. The other most renowned evidences of word of mouth betrayal in our western society (though there are thousands more – and this is not meant to diminish those) involve the French Revolution and the English Court of the 15-1600’s.

  • During the revolution it got to a point where business rivals were denouncing their competitors as ‘royalists’ to ensure their trip to the guillotine;
  • During Henry 8th’s time as well as during the time of his daughters Bloody Mary and Elizabeth the first – during the huge upheaval of the Church in England, thousands were denounced as heretics and burned in Smithfield, or beheaded on Tower Green. This account doesn’t even consider the desperate state for hundreds of years on the greater continent where just about anyone could denounce his fellow brother/sister/neighbor/priest as an heretic during the dreadful inquisition.

I know that we are a free society, but history has taught us that freedom is hard-won and earned. Hard work and dedication to a clear objective keep it so. I’m as guilty as many of airing my opinions and thoughts in our free press society – but if ever we needed to be concerned about what big-brother, his cronies – or his enemies – were wondering, one only has to look at the reputation management tools of today to know that every-thought we put down in the moment is kept safe for future reference by… who knows who?

Just a thought to consider, one I do anyway. Perhaps I am paranoid, perhaps I am too realistic. Perhaps I am over-protective, perhaps I am a fool. Regardless – these are some thoughts I wanted to share – whether you agree with them or not – perhaps they may generate some conversation among you and your friends – or not.

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5 Comments so far... perhaps you would like to leave one?

As for me, I don’t really like putting so much personal information on social networks but, I use it to share information that I know will benefit my network as well as to also share tidbits about what’s going on in my blog, new blog posts, announcements and many others. If people would be more aware of the danger of social media, I guess they would be afraid to be too open but others solution to this is to just add someone if he/ she is really a friend.

Comment by Andrew @ Blogging Guide — August 13, 2010 @ 5:22 am

Andrew, thanks for the comment! I fully agree based on society as we know it today. That could change at some point in the future and we’ve seen family turn on family in regimes of extreme oppression. I realise saying that sounds I’m being overly cautious and verges on paranoid, but the post was meant to highlight the fact that trust and loyalty are not always as strong as one might expect, like or hope under duress.

Comment by Laura — August 13, 2010 @ 6:57 pm

Laura:
In light of what is going on in the Middle East these days, does is strengthen or change your opinion?

Comment by Gene — February 24, 2011 @ 8:38 am

Gene, thanks for a thought-provoking question. Regarding my personal opinion, I would say it has strengthened. BUT I would not be one to leap into the physical fray of a protest either.

I am, and always have been, very wary of making an obvious case of myself or my family in any way shape or form. I must add that I do not know how the foreign regimes of Egypt and Libya manage social networking, all I know is that in Egypt’s case, the Internet was shut down early on. If anyone was held? I don’t know. I also remember a specific case on twitter a few years ago from Iran where a tweeter was keeping the world updated – and suddenly disappeared. I believe the account was resuscitated, but if it was the same person? Again, I don’t know. I do feel – strongly that if you have feelings you are willing to stand for, you should do them in person as well as online, and prepare to take the consequences of either. Hiding on the internet works for the clever re-routers and hackers, we’re not all that smart. I’m not. In their place, I would lay-low or hide with my children. When younger, perhaps I would have got involved. My kids changed a lot of my thinking and behavior.

And I still feel that you need to consider your family and close friends when taking a political or religious stand-point in the social networks. It is very possibly being recorded, by whom I can’t say; to what end I can’t say. But if you can find a staunch, undisputed, bible-believing person in China telling it like it is in terms of their religious and political beliefs as we might understand or rally to on this side of the world, uncensored; please let me know?

To that end, without including any URLs, search for repression, it’s not hard to dig-deeper. You’ll find that freedom of speech and lack of religious freedom is a top concern for many worldwide. I very much doubt they would limit themselves further by making a public social statement, even if they could. Many are already entrenched in a mind-set of self-preservation and fear – one we have not experienced for some few generations. Just because we don’t personally know it does not mean it is not there. Should we stand up for them? For sure… No doubt. My husband and I have a select few charities we support where we know EXACTLY where the money is going and for what. Is verbal/written/vociferous social chat going to help? Again, I don’t know. But it hasn’t helped the orphans in America, or the addicts in Canada.

The charities carry on regardless – with help, internal and international… is social driving donations? Not that I have seen. I may be wrong. Is social driving persecution? Again, I don’t know. But mankind tends to leap on the easy targets, and socially verbose and identifiable detractors are a very easy target – and always have been, regardless of the technology or lack thereof.

AGAIN, please refer to the opening line of my post. These are my personal thoughts only, with some small experience.
-L

Comment by Laura — February 26, 2011 @ 10:10 pm

Hello there, may my partner and i publish articles or blog posts to your web blog ? Inform me if you are interested

Comment by uptodate — January 4, 2012 (5 weeks ago) @ 11:32 pm

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