The Expansionist

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Worrying about Nothing. Media have gone to town with a story that is supposed to scare us: our cellphone calling records might be bought by somebody! Oh my God! NOOOOOOO!
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The records show only what numbers you call or are called by. They do not show what you said. They do not show where you were at the time. Who cares?
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Coming on the heels of revelations of government wiretapping, this is supposed to worry us, but shouldn't. Media love to worry us about nothing, to make us think we need to pay attention to media rather than ignore them (and their advertising). But there are a lot of things the media want to worry us about that shouldn't worry us at all. This is one of them.
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It may well be that every single phone number you call or are called from is listed in the directory, so what's the big secret? Where's the danger? Oh, perhaps if you are trying to carry on an extra"marital" affair (whether you are legally married or merely involved in what is supposed to be a monogamous relationship), you might not want someone to know you're talking to someone you're cheating with. But for the rest of us, the records at issue are of no conceivable importance. If somebody wants to spend $100 to find out what phone numbers I call or call me, who the hell cares?
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(The current U.S. military death toll in Iraq, according to the website "Iraq Coalition Casualties", is 2,220.)

- posted by L. Craig Schoonmaker @ 4:32 PM

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