As the Internet becomes increasingly prevalent in the lives of "Generation Google," the accompanying reduction in privacy can threaten relationships and even job prospects, George Washington University law professor Daniel Solove said in a lecture yesterday.
In his talk, "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet," Solove said that young people today will face the repercussions of a detailed, permanent and public record of their entire lives.
"[The] Internet is enhancing our freedom and autonomy," he said, "but at the same time, it's making us less free," since concerns about photos or rumors appearing online lead people to restrain their behavior.
As an example of the consequences of Internet fame, Solove cited a 2002 video on youtube.com that featured a middle school student wielding a golf club as he imitated the lightsaber fights in "Star Wars." The "Star Wars Kid" quickly gained unwanted notoriety as edited versions of his performance multiplied on YouTube, eventually forcing him to drop out of school.
Solove, who writes a blog titled Concurring Opinions, said other repercussions of the Internet age can be less extreme but still damaging. As it becomes increasingly easy for people to post their own and others' personal information online, he said, gossip that would have been forgotten in the past can last for the rest of our lives — open to being found on google.com by friends, family, dates and prospective employers.
Though some say the threat of Internet exposure benefits society by forcing people to conform to social norms in an increasingly "rude" age, Solove said unrestricted online freedom can be dangerous. Instead, he proposed a "middle ground" policy, where the threat of lawsuits forces people to take greater accountability for their actions.
As an example of his centrist stance, Solove said he thinks current copyright laws are too strict while current privacy laws are too loose. A photographer who takes an embarrassing photo, for instance, can take action against those who reprint it without permission, but the subject of the photo may have trouble preventing the picture's circulation.
Solove said Internet gossip can leave a permanent mark on its victims, describing it as "[bringing] back the scarlet letter in digital form." He added that while some information posted on the web may be false, even true information, when circulated widely, can bring more infamy to its subjects than their actions might deserve.
For students, photos posted on networking sites like facebook.com may influence the decisions of future employers, Solove said. Especially among members of today's tech-savvy generation, he added, the risk of Internet exposure is severe. He cited several statistics to make his case, including ones stating that 50 percent of existing blogs are written by people under 19, about 65,000 videos per day are posted on YouTube, 100 million myspace.com profiles exist and the number of blogs grew from 50 to 50 million over the past seven years.
Some students who attended the lecture, however, were relatively unfazed by Solove's warnings.
"I think it's fine because everybody knows people can access your info," Elizabeth Ingriselli '11 said about Facebook's influence. "You're putting it in public, so it's your own fault if you're incriminated."
Solove was the year's first speaker in a lecture series sponsored by the Center for Information Technology Policy.
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