Back in the days of AOL profiles when no one really knew who we were, there wasn’t much issue with Internet Privacy.  I’m not referring to unsecure sites asking for your credit card number, but sites like MySpace, Facebook and the like.  It seems everyone under 30, and even some senior citizens have at least one profile of the two major Social Networking Sites.  These sites show your personal lives laid out in a neat little page for all, or few to see.  They tell where you work, where you live, phone numbers, etc.  Facebook, a stalker’s dream even tells you when someone is going through relationship problems.  My favorite is “it’s complicated.” 

Part of me really enjoys the attention I receive from friends commenting on what I’m doing that day, my vacation, and new photos.  These are people I would otherwise probably not talk to ever again if I hadn’t found them searching for old friends and classmates.  I was never much of a social butterfly, and these sites allow me to socialize without being in a crowded room of people where I would likely have a panic attack and try desperately to fade into the background. 

Then there are those I don’t know all that well.  Friends I met via internet forums, through other friends, and maybe a few that fell in the cracks whom I don’t even know from Adam – all able to see where I’m going this weekend, and how dirty my floors are from the photos of my pit bull puppy, Lily.  How much do I really want them to know?

I pick and choose who gets to see what.  I’ll never let most of you into my private LiveJournal, and even if you try to send me a friend request on my Facebook, I can promise you I will undoubtedly not accept.  These are places reserved for my closest friends, family.  Perhaps I will create a separate MySpace and Facebook profile if any of you request me to do so.  Until then, I’d like some of who I am to remain private.

The problem with letting strangers in is that you will inevitably get “haters.”  Most people don’t tell you their skeletons but in the past, I’ve let it all out, freely.  It bit me in the rear very quickly.  I was young and I suppose I was seeking attention; however, I didn’t estimate how much negative attention I would actually get.  I let people get to me and wore my emotions on my sleeve for all to see.  Clearly, a rookie mistake.  I withdrew to avoid the attention and after all was said and done, years went by and the negative attention almost ceases to exist.  This time around, I’ve got other plans.

Some people are afraid of internet predators and psycho stalkers.  Yeah, I’ve had my share of stalkers.  I even dated one.  Those psycho stalkers are somebody’s next-door neighbor.  Just because you met them on the internet doesn’t make them any more psycho. 

So, my question to the readers (however few I may have at this point) is: How secure do you feel having your personal business strewn all over the internet?  Would you be afraid if your boss or your mother Googled you?  What do you do to separate the internet from everyday reality, or has the internet become your reality?