Some time ago, there happened an incident in my country. A famous media and political figure was found dead in his bedroom. He was an active person, and there had been no news of any ailment, so his sudden death was shocking for everyone.
He had always been a controversial figure due to his on-air opinions and actions. There were as many haters of him as were the fans. Nonetheless, he was among the most famous persons of the country. His name was known to people of all ages.
Fame comes at a cost, and among its numerous downsides, what I find particularly detrimental is the invasion of one's privacy. It blurs the line between their personal and public life with many people feeling entitled to openly discuss the private affairs of public figures.
With the invasion of social media in our lives, it has become far easier to spread a news like fire in woods. People proudly exercise their right to freedom of speech without considering that they may be infringing on someone else's right to privacy.
The particular case I mentioned in the beginning was one of the sufferers of this irresponsible exercising of freedom of speech. Over the decades of his career, we notice that being controversial for his public actions held no value for him. He kept on being him. Nevertheless, there are certain things in our lives that we don’t want to go public and if they become the talk of the town, the situation may be extremely overwhelming to handle.
It happened to him that some disputes in his family matters became a widespread discussion on various social media platforms. This exposure led to character assassination about the matters that were of no concern to the public. I mean why should anyone in the public be concerned about the reasons of one’s divorce or marriage. It is a person’s internal matter. Who has given us the right to scrutinise and condemn anyone for one’s preferences, choices and decisions about personal life.
But No. We are the people of speech. We are fully aware of our freedom and often exercise it without considering the potential consequences.
A freedom without healthy boundaries is a disaster and I witness it happening in the present era. The stress and upheaval created by speech in people's lives may prove to be fatal, as we witnessed in this particular case.
It is not just a story of one person. Similar kind of public scrutiny has been done to several celebrities which one way or the other has impacted their well-being and reputation.
I mentioned the famous case to illustrate how detrimental the invasion of privacy can be. The negative impact of privacy invasion is not restricted to public figures alone; It poses an equal hazard for every individual, be or not famous in public.
People in individualistic societies might not fully appreciate the value of the right to privacy because they often take it for granted. Having lived in a collectivist and narrow-minded society where the joint family system is prevalent, I have witnessed and experienced instances of privacy invasion that have proven detrimental to emotional well-being and mental peace.
I have witnessed scenario where spouses are not allowed to close the door of their bedroom. I have witnessed cases where any member of the household would enter the bedroom without permission while spouses are inside. Without privacy, the joys of marital life are at stake.
I have witnessed cases where a parent-in-law would open your cupboard and take anything without permission. The irony is that they don’t consider it as invasion of privacy but their right, for reasons only they know 😕.
When you are met with raised eyebrows, frowning faces, sardonic smiles and/or tormenting remarks for sleeping at odd times, attending lunch late, preparing a meal other than the one cooked for the whole family, being engrossed in the hobbies of your choice, decorating the walls of your room, reading a book, for being quiet, holding your spouse's hands, washing clothes in the evening, visiting a friend’s home, so on and so forth, you come to understand the importance of privacy. And so do I.....
I understand the importance of freedom of speech and I do want to exercise it responsibly. Nonetheless, if I am given a trade of between the two human rights i.e. the freedom of speech and the right to privacy, I would opt for the latter one.
I can live peacefully without expressing my unconventional views in the public. On the other hand, a life where my privacy is constantly violated, my sanity is not likely to remain intact.
Image by prettysleepy1 from pixabay.com.
This post is my participation for Hl-featured contest.