My daughter goes to a University with a core curriculum. One of her required units is a section of philosophy and a section of ethics. Currently she is taking ethics. (FYI- she said this 100 level class is kicking her ethical butt, way more than her 400 level classes)

She often tells me about the “problems” the teacher poses- like do people have the right to own chickens. (as it’s become very popular to keep chickens now, some townships are making laws about who can and can’t have chickens) I thought this was an interesting question and even though I don’t plan on writing about it- feel free to comment about it…

Another interesting topic is “Fake Humans of &^%^$# College”

As some of you know there’s a really popular website called Humans of, where a journalist would conduct random person on the street interviews and include them on Insta or a website. Now people are riffing off this: Colleges and universities have UNOFFICIAL accounts where they take a picture of a random person on campus and then make up a story about this person and post it online.

Where do we stand on taking a picture of a person and, without their knowledge or consent, and posting it on a website.

With the use of CCTV and everyone taking pictures continually, is there any sense of privacy anymore?

Do we give up our right to privacy every time we walk out the door?

Discuss

78 thoughts on “Is It Ethical”

  1. I think you give up the right to privacy when you enter public space. You should probably still ask permission to be nice, but there is no expectation of privacy in public spaces.
    Also, people should be allowed to won chickens.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Yeah. I tend to agree it’s you. I try not to get people in my blog photos but it’s impossible. I think the expectation is that if you’re out in public you will be photographed and good shot the pic will be posted

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  2. First, I love my chickens. They are loved, and nobody is taking them away from me without there being a problem. Secondly, you are touching on a much bigger issue (for me)..truth…It’s one thing to make something up and everybody knows it’s fake..ie..stories from The Onion, But when it happens and people are OK with passing it off as truth when they know full well, it’s not..then, they are part of the problem..the watering down of objective truth..

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    1. Omg I owe you an email!! I’m so sorry! I have a head cold but that’s no excuse….I got caught up in the book I’m reading so slap me on the wrist!! I’m a bookaholic

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. You make the same point that I said to my daughter…I just don’t think it’s in good taste to do this unless the photographed is a willing participant.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Tell that to the street photographers who photograph the homeless, or people participating in parades or protests who don’t usually ask. To that style of photography no matter how unethical it can be if you exhibit your work with profit in mind it’s legal.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. My daughter wanted to keep chickens. Fortunately that interest-only lasted a weekend. Out in a public area, there is no expectation of privacy. I’m cool with that. I also have no interest in taking pictures of random people. I have an issue with using this random picture and making up some “story” about them on putting it on a website. Within seconds it goes from fiction to fact and people’s lives are potentially ruined.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. A related story was making the rounds last week. This “trend” is popular in England and a HS teacher is now a victim. Someone took his photo, made up stories about him being a pedophile now he has been suspended from his job, he is ostracized by his community and the person who wrote this up is anonymous.

        Liked by 1 person

      8. Truly…I wrote about it when I was doing a series called frightening Fridays, then made a podcast about it. Dude was named as vigilante terrorist by the media and when he finally got out of jail he was deemed guilty till proven innocent no matter where he went online he was persecuted, he couldn’t take it anymore and killed himself.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. In our apartment building many people have dogs. I always wonder whether it’s fair to keep a large dog cooped up in a flat for most of the day. The owners would say their pet brings them joy, I don’t know what their neighbours feel when the dogs howl or whine at midnight. Then there are some strays that are fiercely protected by some dog lovers, and feared by some children and their parents.
    Big question on ethics here, answer pending since long.
    Reg privacy – in this age of mobile phones turning every single person into an ace photographer, ( and the ethics jumble), only one question. What is privacy??

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. I think it’s just weird to make up stories about real people and post them. I mean, I do it in my head all the time, but would never dream of making it public.
    Everyone who wants chickens shou have them, especially me! My husband and I have this argument on a regular basis, ever since he got rid of mine! Although no one in their right mind would want a rooster😬

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I’m not at all surprised that your daughter is finding her ethics course challenging. The ethics portion of my counselling training positively kicked my butt too – and nearly scared me away from being any kind of therapist.

    Making up histories and attaching them to photographs of strangers without their permission is a clear wrong in my book. Even if intended to be innocent fun, it’s irresponsible, intrusive and potentially damaging to another person. Street photography is something I enjoy, but I rarely post those types of photos publicly where a person’s face is clearly seen, unless I have their permission, for this very reason. I always offer to delete a photograph from my memory card if anyone questions my taking their photo. For example, I took a great picture of someone at a Christmas street market on Sunday who was wearing a festive hat. Just as I snapped, she stuck something in her mouth. It’s a funny picture, but I won’t share it as it’s not flattering, and she preferred it be kept private while not wanting me to delete it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. Well who started this fake human trend?? Seems like a seriously wrong thing to do. You’re just asking for trouble and you know that it’s going to cause issues. I suppose that’s the point though- mindless attempts to make yourself known while causing potential harm to others. Sounds pretty appropriate for the way we live now… Chickens yes! We have lovely urban chicken enclaves all around me and I love stopping to watch and listen to them when I walk. Now metro NY may not be the best place though 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Haha! I’ve never really considered blogging “social media” which is inaccurate I guess in many ways as I know people use blogs for multiple purposes. “Other” social media just seems more immediate, more instant gratification for the owner, less real connection…whatever that might mean.

        Liked by 1 person

  12. I think there is no privacy anymore. At least that’s what my son tells me. He has no expectation of privacy, while it’s something that I value. As for chickens…we had 10 chickens growing up. They each laid one egg per day. My brother and I sold eggs to the neighbors until the neighbors complained to my dad. “We all have chickens. Don’t send your kids over here with eggs!”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I am appalled that it is a “thing” to post a random person’s picture with a fictional story purported to be true. These days people can write and post anything making the truth hard to sort out. I once had the head of a department say “If you say anything often enough and with authority, people will believe anything.” I find that both disgusting and believable. That was over 20 years ago and it has only gotten worse.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. No, we do not have privacy anywhere except maybe in your house if you don’t have a smart TV or Alexa or your phone nearby. As for chickens, I love my chickens, but I can see how there would be a need for rules if you don’t have land. They poop a lot and the roosters crow loudly. Not everyone is going to take proper care of them. Same for dogs and cats. Glad I live in the country. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  15. This is the reason we have all those weirdos in congress doing horrible things and then claiming that “everyone must know it is a fake” or “no reasonable person would believe this.” Very dangerous road to travel. I think that if you are in public, like at a baseball game or concert and you happen to get in someone’s photo that’s kind of unavoidable (although I try not to take direct pictures of people unless I ask). I mean, I even have to get the kid’s permission before I put any family photos online.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. As you know, I do this all the time. I don’t make up stories about them, but I do take photos of people and post them online. I decided as long as I’m not making money off of it or using their photo with ill intentions, then I’m good.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. The simple answer to your question, legally, as I was trained, is basically yes. If you are in a public forum, anyone can take your picture. Now uses of that image may be trickier. If someone is making money off of your image, then that is appropriation and you can sue – but, you have to be able to prove there is some “worth” to your image in order to establish damages. A professional sports person could argue yes, most of us no. I forgot what the number of cameras is that we encounter each day, but we are recorded on multiple security cameras each and every day. We are tracked daily by use of our phones and credit cards and computers. It is difficult to go completely off-grid. For those who say, who cares, I’m not doing anything wrong, I say f@@k that. We do not want to live in a world where all of our thoughts and actions are monitored. On the other hand, how many people are doing the monitoring – difficult to keep track of us all at the same time. Ethical and legal are completely different things. One place we are supposed to be safe is in our homes, another is in any bathroom, regardless if it’s public. Here I am rambling again. While I don’t like all the cameras, I’ve had to set up my own to watch over the home I’m building – sad . . .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Oddly, the class my daughter is taking is ethics and the law…so questions like this make up the majority of the class. And I’m with you. I don’t like being monitored 24/7…it’s creepy. And could be used against you…😆

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. It is creepy. Whenever I get a terminal diagnosis I’ll go do a bunch of crazy stuff for the cameras – LOL. But for now, I don’t like them and I don’t think it’s ethical to invade our privacy

        Liked by 1 person

  22. I don’t think there’s much todo about this one, even though I’m not the biggest fan of this concept and practice. Policing people’s use of their cell phones isn’t going to happen nor should it, so if you are in a public space, well, you’re privacy becomes limited. That’s all on this one I think…for now…hehe

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. I would NOT be happy to have a stranger post a picture of me. Especially to then make up a story. Technology has opened us up to all kinds of privacy violations. But this is our world, our reality. I’m just glad to have the memories of simpler times. Phones with cords. No social media. Vacations where work couldn’t contact you. Sigh…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. I can’t really speak to the chickens. But street photography is legal under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court ruled there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place. Think about how many times you are photographed on surveillance cameras etc. Now, what a photographer does with the photos is a different story. While they can be used for editorial purposes, these photos cannot be used for commercial profit without a model release. More on this can be found on this site:
    https://pdnonline.com/photography-business/legal/street-photography-and-the-law-what-you-need-to-know/?blocked=true

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  27. About the chickens, im indifferent. I guess in order to own chickens, you need to have the means to sustain them and the space. As for pictures, I think we should have privacy but sadly, something like taking someone elses picture without their permission is easy to get away with.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s