Privacy: "a:the quality or state of being apart from company or observation: SECLUSION b:freedom from unauthorized intrusion <one's right to privacy>"

In his Network World article today, Dave Kearns drew attention to a blog by Timothy Grayson reviewing a new Canadian court ruling "that inclusion of marketing materials in a statement to a client/customer constitutes 'secondary marketing' and is a privacy breach." Wow! So my bank's stuffing an advertising flier inside the envelope that delivers my bank statement is an attack on my privacy? I hadn't thought of it that way. I suppose I've considered the flier to be a waste of paper and ink as I threw it in the garbage without glancing at what it said, but I hadn't considered that my privacy was being compromised.

Somehow, this made me think of high school math class. In the hippie culture of the 1960's, it was popular to advocate a "tune in, drop out" culture. My high school math teacher, Mr. Kissler, teetered on the edge of that philosophy. During one "math class" he told of a young runaway girl he befriended. She was convinced that she wanted to drop out of normal society and live off the land - at least until Mr. Kissler demonstrated how to kill, skin and butcher cuddly bunny rabbits for food. Now doesn't that make you want to sell your house and move to the rain forest?

My advice for someone who doesn't want to endure the bloody reality of animals being killed for food -- don't expect to live off the land. Advice for people who don't want fliers in their bank statements? Change banks or stuff your money in a mattress. Drop out of connected society.

I find it interesting that the first of Merriam-Webster's definitions of privacy suggests "Seclusion" as a synonym for "Privacy." To the extent one chooses seclusion from society as a lifestyle and becomes cut off from interaction with other humans and institutions, he or she can achieve true privacy. For centures, hermits have withdrawn from society and lived in caves.

Become a virtual hermit if you wish. But please don't expect complete freedom from unauthorized intrusion (the second definition) if you choose to receive bank statements, use the Internet or function as a non-hermit in the Participation Age. Throw those pesky instrusive fliers in the trash and get on with life.

Tag: Identity