Lots of people had imaginary friends when growing up. Not me - life at my house was far too chaotic and unstable for me to want more emotional input from other people, imaginary or real! Instead I had imaginary private space (books were the doors that got me there).

In light of that, I find this article by Tom Sherman (thanks, Hylton) to be a fascinating look at what the ongoing erosion of personal privacy could mean (emphasis mine):

Creative, critical thinking is built on a foundation of imagination and unorthodoxy. Minds must continue to wander and ponder the inconceivable, and investigate the improper. When we muck around freely in the privacy of our own minds, we frequent territory off-limits to others. In the long run this internal exploration will help us to know who we are, and what we want, instinctively and intellectually. Connectivity with others is valuable as a means for sharing the bounty of our private worlds, but connectivity itself must be moderated, or the blood-life of privacy will be drained off.


The central issue lurking throughout these thoughts is the disadvantage of not having a private space to regroup or restructure within. Private space must be nurtured and protected, as privacy is an insurance policy against psychological and emotional incarceration.

(snip - but it's all great; go read it!>

The dangers with eroding privacy are the restrictions imposed on personal growth. They limit critical perspectives, diminish the depth of our analyses, and evaporate hard-core (psychologically-rooted, anti-social, self-sustaining) creativity.


Because I know that people are listening to my inner voice, I cannot afford to feel the way I once did.