Wireless Internet and Privacy in Public Places

It seems like there is a new viral video to comment on every day. New York City, the vibrant metropolis that it is, seems to generate more than its fair share of viral videos, and the latest was captured on a suburban Metro North train, in which a supposedly "educated” commuter berates the train's conductor for no apparent reason. Suddenly, the subject of this video is an Internet celebrity and has had to take down several of her social media profiles. Given the effect that being in this viral video is likely to have on her life, is this really the way our society should be using the Internet?

The video consists of a train conductor on a Metro North commuter train between New York City and northern parts of the "tri-state area,” who, presumably at the request of other passengers, asks one of the passengers to stop talking so loudly on her cellphone and using profanity. The passenger responds with a particularly offensive version of the "Do you know who I am?” routine, stating that her graduation from elite U.S. educational institutions makes the conductor's conduct totally inappropriate, and threatening (offering?) never to ride Metro North again. Really, the sense of the entitlement of the woman in this video has to be seen to be believed. Shortly thereafter, savvy wireless Internet types put their research skills to work and found the real-life name of the subject of the video: a Ms. Hermon Raju.

Gawker, one of the New York Internet media outlets that has covered this story, stated that "public humiliation is the only thing that will teach this brat a lesson. Let's hope this helps!” However, the degree of public humiliation that is likely to happen to the subject of such an Internet viral video may, to some people, be somewhat disproportionate for the offense committed. Now that the subject of the video has been identified, and as long as search engines keep operating like they do, any potential future employer, co-workers, or date is likely to Google Ms. Raju and find out that she was the subject of this viral video. Although public humiliation of such a snobby, entitled person to some degree is certainly called for, shouldn't it have been limited to humiliation by the people on the train with her, as was generally the case before the wireless Internet age?

What is particularly disturbing about the online shaming of Hermon Raju is that unlike UCLA college student Alexandra Wallace, who posted a racist rant slamming "Asians in the library” on Youtube which immediately became the subject of a national dialogue, Raju did not consent to her video being placed on the Internet. Although everyone is becoming more aware of the dangers of making potentially offensive statements on the Internet, it seems that wireless Internet service can also make it a problem to lose one's judgment and act in a way that might expose one to ridicule in a public place as well. This is something to certainly keep an eye on as the Internet age moves forward.

San FranciscoClear Wireless Internet pricing, as well as mobile Internet pricing in other cities, can help you affordably learn more about this important issue.