I was reading an author's blog the other day and he was referencing a world without any privacy to make a point. It got me thinking that people value privacy to different degrees. Some people keep as much private as the possibly can. Things like pay, what they spend their money on, their past, what's in their closet, what people see them doing, their naked body, their feelings about things...etc. I all areas of our life we all determine how much we keep private and if something we want to remain private gets out then we would be pretty upset about it.
After considering what type of stuff you like to keep private now think about a world with no privacy. This is probably not possible because some stuff you could keep privately in your head but bare with me on this. Imagine everyone knows how much you get paid, how you spend all of your time, what you have purchased and what you paid for those purchases, what you eat, how long you sleep, how well you brush your teeth, your routine in the shower, what you watch on TV, what you look at on the Internet, what is said in your conversations, what you read... etc. The list could go on forever.
In thinking about this no privacy concept I think it could be very liberating. I think a lot of stress comes from keeping things private and if it was all out there on the table you could let go of a lot of feelings and emotions like pride, shame, fear, envy and so on. Everyone would be completely exposed and we would see everyone's shortcomings or oddities as well as things that would probably impress us. It could also enhance all those feelings and emotions because they would not longer be held back by our not knowing certain things.
Not sure if this makes sense but here's the task for you to consider. Think about various areas in your life and where you draw the line when it comes to what is public and what is private. Feel free to explain why certain things are private but I would challenge you to not use the reason "because it is no one else's business". That may be true but I think maybe that isn't the true reason, it is just the easiest one for us to give.
2 hours ago
3 comments:
At first glance it kind of sounds like heaven... except, everyone's looking at me. I don't know man.
I've been thinking about this for a while. I think it would significantly increase my stress levels. I tell people a lot of things, and if someone asks me, I normally tell them what they want to know. However, I think sometimes people use information to hurt/judge/form opinions of you that really it doesn't matter if they know that about you or not.
I have been thinking about this as well. At first I was thinking about privacy with finances. For the most part, we don't talk about our money with others. I always felt like it was no one's business what we make, what our house costs, how much we spend on certain things ... but I am not sure of the reason I feel it is private. Is it because I am competitive about it? Or because I don't want to be judged by others about what we make and how we spend it? I am not sure ...
Also- I thought this last week about simpler privacy issues. Our house is being re-piped. The plumbers did much more demo on day one than planned - so they ended up clearing out our things on their own. We returned to our cupboards, closets and even medicine cabinets emptied into the living room. I felt slightly embarrassed about them doing this. Even them standing in my shower to work - I wondered if they had any thoughts on our shampoo brands, that my razer handle could use a deep cleaning, was there too much soap scum and they thought we lived in filth??
Having strangers work all through my home - and specifically around all our plumbing - this week has made me realize I like privacy. I do share a lot of things, and as life goes on I share more and more ... but I think I prefer to decide what I share with people. Some get a little bit, and some get almost all of it ... but I like the part of privacy where I get to make those decisions.
(And yes- that includes all the junky reality shows in my TiVo that are my guilty pleasure, to which my husband just rolls his eyes!)
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