PRIVATION

A sense of invisibility, powered by technology---get a life, folks! (Mark Bowden, Jewish World Review)

I got an urgent e-mail last week from a friend who had discovered a devilish new computer trick.

If you enter a 10-digit telephone number into a popular search engine, it will tell you the address where that number is located. Other search engines will quickly print you a map and even an aerial photograph of the property. My friend was shocked. She felt that the modern world had just invaded her privacy again, an apparently widespread fear.

A recent Fox News report on the subject breathlessly began:

"How would you feel if your name, address and even directions to your home were listed on the Internet for all to see? It's a scary thought and it's happening to a lot of people."

Get a grip.[...]

What many people see as new intrusions on privacy are, in fact, restoring a more traditional community. I grew up in a world where people could find my house if they knew my telephone number, and where shopping was something done in public. It wasn't so bad. If my online movie renter or bookseller knows my preferences, it's like the old corner bookshop owner who would tip me to the latest Patrick O'Brien or Elmore Leonard novel.

The good news is that most of this technology is optional. Cookies can be rejected, TVs can be turned off, and you don't have to use your credit card on the Internet. You can order by mail or phone, or actually go shopping.

And as for the nefarious telephone number/Internet trick, here's a high-tech tip: Get an unlisted number.

On Monday the dentist called our house twice and work three times but wouldn't leave a message because of the new privacy act: the message, when I finally got it, appointment on Tuesday at 4:00pm for a teeth-cleaning. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 14, 2003 9:13 AM