Ethics, friendships and Flickr (or “Why I don’t drink around some folks”)

UPDATE: Since Newsweek’s site relaunch, the link below no longer goes to the column in question. It is still available on FindArticles.com.

In his column “Smile! You’re an Unwitting Net Star.,” Steven Levy argues that the ubiquity of mobile devices and small cameras isn’t always bad thing, but asks whether we want to completely eliminate that space between semi-public and Internet famous?

There used to be a safer middle ground between an inviolate privacy sanctuary and a no-holds-barred public space, a zone of local accountability and global anonymity, where a gaffe, a humiliation or even a serious lapse in judgment could occur without making waves from San Diego to Sydney. No more — all it takes is one digital rubbernecker who quietly captures the event with a cell-phone camera and posts it to a Web site.

Levy worries that Big Social Brother will have a chilling effect on people having fun in public spaces. I’m also worried that it could kill friendships.

I’m starting to avoid social gatherings because friends with digital cameras and cameraphones will be there, taking pics and posting them online. I typically put a hand up and say “Please don’t.” But usually that means the shutterbug will wait for a more candid and far worse shot for his or her online gallery.

The problem with party shots is that the image becomes removed from its context. Without that context, the viewer doesn’t know, for example, whether the person is passed out drunk or a hard sleeper. The viewer doesn’t know whether that’s urine or a big glass of pineapple soda in her lap. The viewer doesn’t know whether that’s a joint or a wad of tissue paper. The viewer doesn’t know whether this is typical or atypical of the subject’s behavior.

For the photographer (and sometimes the subject), it’s a fun memory. For the photographee, it’s a potentially destructive image that doesn’t always get the benefit of the doubt. After all, this is an era when companies are making hiring decisions based on some obviously satirical, posturing B.S. posted to a college kid’s Facebook page.

So for the photo-freaks among us: what responsibility does (or should) the camera-holder have to (a) respect the request not to be photographed in semi-public or semi-private spaces (i.e. at a bar or friend’s house party); and (b) not to post potentially embarrassing photos and videos of their friends and acquaintances (or hell, even strangers) online, especially with a name attached? (Actually, in some cases that can be grounds for legal action, so watch what you publish).

And for those who are camera shy: Do you find yourself self-censoring your behavior in public or avoiding events with your shutterbug friends?