Page 1121 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

happy to publicize where he goes and what he buys. No privacy
worries for him.

“If I buy some Britney Spears, I guess my friends would make fun of 3

me,” said Braden, who works for the computer company Dell. “But I’m

not too concerned about privacy. I don’t think I’m doing anything I

would be embarrassed about.”

Call it openness or exhibitionism, it is spreading everywhere. On 4

Twitter you can post your thoughts minute by minute. On Facebook

and Flickr personal photographs abound. One website will even

broadcast your weight to the world every time you step on the

bathroom scales.

Do we no longer care about privacy? Not much, claims Mark 5

Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Facebook. Last week he

declared: “People have gotten really comfortable not only sharing

more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more
people.” He described such lack of privacy as a “social norm.”

To those who grew up peeking at the neighbors from behind net 6

curtains, it might seem crazy. To younger generations, born with the

Internet in their DNA, Zuckerberg may have a point.

As Daniel Masoliver, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in London, 7

put it: “The only reason privacy ever existed is because Facebook

didn’t. People have always liked talking about what they’re into and

the more people share information with one another, the more