Have Your Cake, Or Don't

Last week I posted bloopers from Google street view. Scroll down in case you missed a fantastic series of snapshots that captured a kid falling off of his bike. It's perfect. You can see the moment that the van startles him, and then his classic, feet in the air, rolling plummet to the pavement. I love it. I know exactly what that kid on the bike is going through. The dissociative moment of confusion when your brain first registers that something is wrong. Instinct takes over, your eyes close, your limbs flail. Then a flash, followed by a mental reboot. It all comes back to you after the fact, and by then it's too late to recover. Anyone who saw is already laughing at you. And in this kids case it's a little more extreme. Sure in the heat of the moment the laughter might hurt you, but everyone is laughing for a reason. They relate. Falling off of your bike is one of those humiliating shared experiences. Like spilling a drink or having someone walk in while you're masturbating, it's these moments of vulnerability that people can relate to. I wonder if that kid knows how many people have laughed at his moment?

"Google Maps is some ill shit... As much as it helps. It makes me wonder .... Can they see me pee." This well put quote from Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids probably sums up what you are thinking at the moment. The amazing services provided by Google and countless other sites do present a dilemma. Should we be worried about our privacy?

Granted, the chances that it will be you falling off of your bike when the Google van drives by are slim, but the issue remains. Anyone with a computer could easily track you down using little more than your IP address, and then look at satelite photos of your house. They could find a picture of you on Facebook. Oh God. Just think of how much they could do!

On the surface this seems like a warranted knee jerk reaction that I would expect people to have. Surprisingly though, I rarely hear any suck concerns. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that the news hasn't been flooded with interviews of distraught people worried that Google is destroying America. Maybe I'm just cynical, but this pleasant surprise puzzles me.

There are only two possible reasons that there hasn't been a paranoid outburst against Google. Either people are dropping their insecurities, and allowing themselves to be more open with each other, or they simply have no idea.

I would like to think that it's because we are gearing towards a less paranoid, less fearful society, but somehow I doubt it. Still though, I am glad that the vocal minority hasn't taken huge issue with this yet. Even if they aren't knowingly being more open, I think that it is likely that the gneration coming up now, the ones who were born with Facebook, will inevitably be more open, and less fearful of each other. They will be used to having that photo of them, caught in the throes of a vulnerable moment, preserved for all to see.