In class this week we talked a lot about privacy online. In a world where almost everyone has their own personal online space, it is hard to define where to draw the line with what information you make available and to whom you make it available. Pretty much everyone that you meet nowadays can be searched for on Face book, Linkedin, or even google. This is where the privacy in the real world verses online becomes blurry. For example you may meet someone briefly in person, and form your opinion on them based on that meeting. From that meeting they may seem like someone who is quiet or someone who is reserved, but when you search for them online (Face book) their pictures could present an entirely different persona. They could have pictures of them dancing on a bar or taking shots with friends that rival your initial opinion of them. Privacy on Face Book can be controlled. The reading on SNS argues that such sites "do not provide users with the flexibility they need to handle conflicts with Friends who have different conceptions of privacy". This could create trouble for offline relationships. If someone was to make all of their information private, it could offend those who can no longer see their information.
Privacy can also affect personal offline relationships in other ways. For example a good friend might find out that you are engaged at the same time as someone you barely know, because of Face book. This complicates relationships, because you would obviously want your good friends to know of your happy news before anyone else. However, this is all a part of "social networking". I think that in time, people will learn easier ways to bridge the gap between their online and offline relationships.
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