Stop Enoying Us

Most of us know that something nefarious can lurk in the unsolicited email from a purported lost relative in central Africa who needs a cash wire so that “they can get transportation home.” These messages and the dozens of others like glutting our email inboxes are outright scams. Unlike the trusty mailbox at the end of the lane, the one on our desk (inside of our locked and secure personal domiciles) is far more dangerous. Certainly, folk have used USPS to cheat and steal since the early days of post. But the Internet has accelerated crime right along with its many blessings. How do we tell the difference between a legitimate offer and one that is cleverly concealing a computer virus ready to steal our personal information and hijack our friends list?



But not all of this SPAM (defined not the tasty, guilty-pleasure, meat product butas junk mail) is treachery. Some of the messages are invitations to attend events for causes to which we have no interest, solicitations to sample pharmaceuticals and other cures for problems with which we are not afflicted, updates on all manner of topics which require little appraisal, or the retelling of another crude joke from a distant acquaintance that is sure that the urban legend must be passed to “10 friends or something bad will happen.” This mix is largely harmless enough. One doesn’t need to do more than press the delete key.

Yet, what is the difference between connecting with others and e-noying them? How much information – even transferred in the most passive way – is simply too much information? And even more importantly, how do we help folks understand that they are sharing too little too often? Don’t we all want to be connected and informed – yet how much can we really consume?

This column was published on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 in the Current in Carmel, Current in Westfield, Current in Fishers and Current in Noblesville - http://youarecurrent.com/