I am online way too much. And I am a member of way too many "friend" sites and dating sites. And recently, I have noticed that being a part of all these sites has decreased my anonymity and the anonymity of most people. Let me give you an example...
So, I am a member of this gay online dating/hookup site where people try to be all discrete by hiding their faces in photos, but showing other things you sometimes just don't want to see. There are plenty of body shots... you see a lot of chests, asses, tattoos, and other unmentionables.
I am also a member of a few networking sites, such as Connexion and Friendster. And, I've found, so are many of these headless people from the previous hookup site. It's quite interesting when you are browsing one of these networking sites and come across a familiar picture, this time with a face. Think you're being discrete, huh? Not so much.
Now, I have a lot of information about you. I know your name, your real age (most people don't lie on these networking sites, but they do on dating sites), where you live, where you grew up, your occupation, your favorite movies/books, and alot of other crap along with additional pictures, most with your face.
And today at the gym I came across another one of those "You can't see my face" people when I recognized his tattoo. Not many people have the Hawaiian Islands tattooed on their forearm.
Anyway, I guess my whole rant is about the fact that its quite easy to find out who anyone is these days. We are just willingly posting our photos and putting all of our personal information out there. Anonymity is no longer.
