Is there anymore room for privacy given the hyper-connected world of social networking?

'' Hey did you hear that Samantha and Ian broke up?'' ''Yes'' ''How did you find out about that?'' ''Facebook''

I have heard these lines one time too many and even been part of such conversations. The exchange above shows how public your private life can be, thanks or no thanks to social networking and internet. Frequently used and popular social networks would be twitter, Facebook, Tumblr,Formspring and even blogging.

Hyperconnectivity refers to person-to-person and person-to-machine communication in networked organisations and societies. It also refers to multiple means of communication. Posting pictures and leaking out information about your private life can be easily seen by others. Even confidential information reaches people fast. The net is very unsafe to use due to hackers and spammers who pose as harmless and distribute or steal whatever activity you have done in the net to date.

Social networking and such organisations encourage the users to continue using their network. They do these enhancing their features and spur them on to go public. They make their networking sites addictive and make them stand out from other public platform sites. Hence, this encourages the people to post things and reveal more about their personal life and photos.

As for blogging, its suppose to act as online diary to release your emotions and vent out your anger. However, the world is becoming 'smaller' due to globalisation and more people having access to internet. An example of a blogger who has gone public with her private life would be xiaxue. She post pictures of her intimate and personal life online. She expresses her views,negative and positive there. Everyone knows about her personal life and relationships due to her blogging.

Another example of the internet being unsafe and having lack of privacy would be the recent leaked photo of well-known lead singer of band Paramore, Hayley Williams. She accidentally uploaded her nude picture on Twitter but quickly deleted it. A few minutes later, it was already posted on the net and distributed.

Privacy whilst using social networking can be managed as long as you limit what you post and do not reveal discreet information.