Are We All Paparazzi?

Now a days digital video and still cameras, and mobile phones capable of both are all around us, almost anyone can be a paparazzi. Is this a good thing for our society or is it something that is part of living in a metropolis in the 21st century?

There are sites like YouTube allowing amateur videographers to share their videos. With the Hong Kong video “Bus Uncle” being the most viewed video on YouTube last month (June).

There are also web sites and organizations like Videopower in Hong Kong that are independent videographers capturing the latest stories in Hong Kong using a different view point than commercial news broadcasts.

With so many readily media technologies in the hands of amateurs, many people are now raising the privacy issues of these media. I personally think that we must forego some personal privacy, when we (particularly in Hong Kong) lives in a place with over 7 million people in a territory smaller than the island of Manhattan, New York.

So if you are not doing something wrong you have nothing to worry about. If you are you should keep in mind that you may become the star of a video posted on YouTube or alike sites.

Having said that, like everything else, there are always bad apples in the mist. For amateur videographers and photocasters, there are ones who take hidden videos and photographs of others with sexual intentions and then post these media files onto the Internet. This is where I do agree that there is a violation of privacy to the extent of being illegal.

How do we draw the line? When does it consider invasion of privacy and when do we accept it as part of freedom of expression?

Please feel free to support your opinions.