Privacy s Perception Of Privacy - 1161 Words

This ever-present, Big Brother-like surveillance messes with people’s perceptions of their privacy. Naturally, when you are constantly being watched by someone or something, you perceive a loss of privacy. â€Å"People are concerned about privacy; they are afraid that the digital systems they use on an everyday basis may bring unwanted effects into their lives.† (Lahlou, 2008, p. 300) In his article, Lahlou presents an alternate way of viewing privacy that better SOMETHING HERE Lahlou points out that â€Å"Privacy was initially understood as ‘the right to be left alone’ and sometimes ‘encryption.’† (Lahlou, 2008, p. 312) This definition seems like it applies in the case of Harris’s experiments, the Panopticon, and the Internet as whole; we know we†¦show more content†¦A back region or backstage can be defined as a place, relative, to a given performance, where the impression fostered by the performance is knowingly contra dicted as a matter of course.† (Goffman, 1959, p. 69) The information someone presents about themselves in their front region differs from the information that person presents in the back region. Lahlou draws a Goffman’s idea of a front and back stage to define what he calls the face. He defines a face as a sort of expected role. â€Å"The face is what a subject ‘is’ at a given moment.† (Lahlour, 2008, p. 317) Different types of faces include â€Å"expert, a manager, a project member, a company employee, a friend, etc† (Lahlou, 2008, p.314) He defines being in private when one does not have to wear a specific face. The transition from face to face could be analogous to the transition between front stage and backstage. When a person is alone, they are a combination of all of their faces; they do not have to put any particular face because there is no expected role when they are alone. In somewhat of a contrast to the ‘traditional’ view of privacy, Lahlou claims that â€Å"privacy issues emerged from role conflicts between activities.† (Lahlou, 2008, p.