[Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones

[MBR]

On 3/1/2013 10:42 AM, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> In the old days they had a single landline in a house shared by all 
> members of the family, and parents could snoop. Today, with text 
> messaging the device is portable so while their parents can check on 
> the bills and usage, they can't see anything about the individual text 
> messages.
>
In the old days, parents and other family members could only snoop in 
real-time if they happened to be present while the call was happening.  
But texting is a store-and-forward mechanism that leaves a record that 
anybody who can get physical access to your phone can see.  Now that 
texting is ubiquitous and the features to secure your private messages 
are enough of a hassle that virtually nobody uses them, it's not just 
parents who snoop.  Judging by the newspaper stories about Rhianna 
(2008) or Tiger Woods (2009), the old social rules that violating a 
family member or friend's privacy by snooping have gone out the window, 
and it's now perfectly acceptable to read someone else's communications 
without their permission -- at least it is if you're a girlfriend or 
wife.  In Chris Brown's case, his response was an extreme overreaction.  
But it was triggered by having his privacy violated by his girlfriend.  
In Tiger Woods' case, not only did he have his privacy violated, but 
according to reports at the time he was then physically attacked by her 
as he tried to get away, and then in order to salvage his public image 
he was forced to engage in spin control and deny the attack ever 
happened.  But whether it happened or not, his privacy was violated.

Snooping hasn't disappeared.  If anything, it's worse than ever!

    Mark Rosenthal