Tag... You're it!

I’m sure there has been a photo of you doing something embarrassing posted on Facebook. Maybe it’s a photo of you at a party after you had a few too many drinks, or a video of you singing your favorite Billy Ray Cyrus song. Although these memories are your property, as soon as a picture or video is posted on Facebook and you are tagged in it, it soon becomes everyone’s memory.

The last lecture we had in Professor Aziz Douai class, we examined how communication technologies enable individuals to transcend space and time. It’s is only through technology we can capture a memory and relieve it the same way it happened. This would not be possible if it weren’t for the invention of the camera, video camera, or voice recorder. But happens when a moment of your life is captured when you didn’t necessarily want it captured? How do you dispose of these incriminating videos or photos after they have been posted on Facebook and a large majority of your friends, family, or colleagues have already seen it?

On the social networking website Facebook, users are able to upload videos, photos, or voice recordings, and tag whoever is in that media without their consent. Now this may get a little cumbersome so bare with me. Yes, Facebook does notify the user they have been tagged; however, the media they have been tagged in is now visible to all of their friends. This person must untag themselves in order for that media to not be visible to their friends, but this does not solve the problem. The photo that has been untagged by the “tagee” is still on Facebook. To actually dispose of the media, the tagee has to ask their friend to delete the media or a formal complaint has to be filed to Facebook, Inc. to dispose of the media.

This scenario seems almost frightening, but how many people can say yes to this happening to themselves. Has it become acceptable in our culture that our most private moments can be captured and displayed for the whole world to see without our consent? Personally, I think our culture has accepted this; however, some of these memories may not show us in the best of light. Therefore the process of posting photos/videos and tagging people on Facebook, without their consent, may paint a fictitious portrait of the tagee and pose more harm than good to their image. It almost appears like we have to censor our behavior in public in fear of it being posted on Facebook. Wow, seems a little ridiculous.

With this in mind, do you think all Facebook users should have the power to post and tag whoever they want in a photo or video, or should it be more regulated? I would like to read your thoughts.