Who is to blame?

In a lecture with Sandy Davidson, the boundaries between public vs. private arose. With the upcoming presidential election, it is impossible to turn on the television without hearing personal information about various candidates. Whether it is from comical news reports such as The Colbert Repot, or a hard-hitting news station such as Fox News or CNN, it is impossible to escape these juicy, yet irrelevant stories that is now commonly called “news”. Who is to blame for the destruction of the “privacy wall”? Could the media be the 100% at fault? Or could the news and other forms of media simply be a reflection of what the public really wants to see?

            News is a necessity for a society to survive. Not only is it a way to quickly pass information, but could also be considered a source of entertainment. People love to be informed on issues, whether it be politics, or celebrity gossip. As much as people claim that “gossip is bad”, or “I hate gossip”, hearing private information about someone is a guilty pleasure for everyone. So while many blame the media for the invasion of privacy and the spread of “gossip”, it can be argued that the media is merely giving the people what they want. The media has a duty to provide information, but they also have to make money. While members of the “elite” class, crave news, and nothing but news; majority of the population are more apt to read the newspaper, or watch the news if there is some kind of entertainment value.

            The issue of public vs. private is in constant debate. While the debate that the media has gone too far, and crossed the line dividing public and private information continues, thousands of people are joining Facebook; an internet site (public domain) where one can create a profile and divulge personal information to the world. Could we all just be a society of hypocrites? Everyday you can walk down the street and hear someone barking into their phone about their “crazy night last night!”, or be sitting in class and watch students creep through photos on Facebook. Even upon meeting people, we a quick to share personal information such as taste in music, movies, embarrassing moments, ect. While the media defiantly participates in the invasion of privacy, if one were to take a step back and look at society today, the destruction of privacy is largely a result of the public.