As long-time readers know, this blog has always taken the position that celebrities are still entitled to privacy. And with that in mind, this site has often avoided posting news items about people whose private sex tapes or sensitive information has been uploaded to the Internet without their knowledge or consent.
Not surprisingly, the recent exposure of numerous celebrities’ personal pictures was grist for the media. But there is one news item in its wake that I thought that I would quote here. A story on Independent.ie begins:
Jennifer Lawrence has told of the huge emotional and physical toll she has borne since naked photos of her began circulating on the internet.
“I knew the paparazzi were going to be a reality in my life,” the 24-year-old Oscar winner said. “But I didn’t know that I would feel anxiety every time I open my front door, or that being chased by 10 men you don’t know, or being surrounded, feels invasive and makes me feel scared and gets my adrenaline going every day.
“You can say, ‘This (invasion of privacy) is part of my job and this is going to be a reality of my life,'” Lawrence said, “but what you don’t expect is how your body and how your emotions are going to react to it.”
And that is something I wish we could share with youth who think it’s no big deal to post or share nude pics or sensitive information.
Maybe they would just shrug it off, but if it even helps a few teens to understand that loss of privacy is really a Very Big Deal, it would be worth it.