Cameras have become the de rigeur feature for practically every portable electronic device out in the market today. You can find it in tablets, music players, and probably 99 percent of every phone that is being manufactured today. But such a benign tech feature is being used for more creepy purposes, if we’re to base it on a new survey released by Harris Interactive.
The survey, which was conducted with more than 2,300 people in the United States, revealed that half of American adults would have no qualms filming secret videos of other people without their knowledge. The surveyed people didn’t necessarily get into a situation or an opportunity to film or spy on others, but they did mention several scenarios that will compel them to bring out their smart phones and film other people. The most common response (pegged at 23 percent) is that they will film people who are wearing embarrassing or unflattering outfits. This could be a reaction based on the increasing popularity of Youtube videos that make fun of other people. It’s a hypothesis that is further strengthened by the other responses that the respondents will film a person who is tripping or falling.
Subjects or situations that are sexual in nature are also a popular subject for taking videos. Of the respondents, ten percent said they will film a sexy waitress they see at a restaurant, about nine percent will film a shirtless gardener, and seven percent will film cheerleaders. Five percent of the respondents will go so much as film a couple who is making out.
The survey results are quite alarming when viewed from the perspective of privacy. We have all become potential video personalities because every person has been given the tools by which they can video people and then show it to potentially millions of people using online video sites like Youtube. The days of privacy because one is not a celebrity is now over.
Originally posted on October 12, 2011 @ 5:40 pm