Privacy?

So we've all seen this problem about privacy issues over the internet, especially with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and such. Users of such online programs worry about their "private" information, and are consistently complaining about how the information they put online including addresses, cell phone numbers, pictures, ect are/can be seen by potential strangers which increase the chance of getting stalked online or apparently in real life.
Now, this is all normal and good but lets take a step back and look at the bigger picture of all of this:
Say I have a secret like.. "I don't consume Oxygen." Obviously this is a huge secret for me. If this gets out to the general public, it could be dangerous because 1: News agencies and talk shows would all come after me, and 2: Scientists would be interested in cutting me open for scientific research.
Now say I was living 500 years ago. There wasn't internet back then but say I did have a best friend. So I go up to this friend one day and say "Hey listen. I have a huge secret, but because you're my friend I'll tell you. As long as you don't tell anyone else." and he/she/it goes like "Oh yeah? Well you can tell me, for sure. I won't tell anyone. Even if my life depended on it." So I tell my friend about my lack of oxygen consumption, then life continues.
Now say my friend and I get in an argument and now he/she/it decides to broadcast my secret to his/her/it's friends. They in turn spread the information to their friends. All of a sudden, my situation is out of control, my social rankings drop, my boyfriend hates me, my teachers refuse to accept me, my parents kick me out of the house and I get captured by evil scientists who want to cut me open for research.
Now, coming back to present day, say I have the same secret, but this time my friend has a name that goes by "Facebook". So one day I'm at the store with Facebook, and I decide, since I think Facebook is a good friend, that I'll tell him/her/it my secret. (Gosh, if Facebook doesn't start using the bathroom, you will never know what gender it is.) So I go: "Hey man, I've got this highly piece of secretive information, but I think you're an important friend to me, so I think you have the right to know.", and then Facebook goes: "Well, if you're comfortable with saying it, by all means, I'll love to hear. Just sign here and here and remember that I'm only human." So I tell him/her/it my information and life continues.
The next day I wake up to the FBI and scientists at my door.
In all seriousness, if I had a choice, I would rather talk to Facebook than my friend in the first example. I mean, I fully trust my friend, but they still betrayed me nevertheless. Facebook actually told me (Terms and Conditions) that my information might not be too safe if I told him/her/it. Yes, nobody actually reads allllllll that stuff, it's really simply there to remind you that the internet isn't perfect or airtight or 100% secretive (aka it's not quite as awesome as you think it is.)
The problem here, however, still goes back to the definition of the word "private". When I told my friend that I lacked oxygen, was my secret still "private" information? Once someone other than me knows the information, I'm completely at the mercy of others. My secret is no longer private, so when my friend tells this information to someone else, that's not an invasion of privacy. Granted, I should have gone to a better friend, but he/she/it wasn't invading my privacy, simply because the information is no longer private. They don't have the right to keep that information private because I'm the one that began to spread it.
The same thing happens over the internet. Social networking sites such as Facebook, rely on you giving it information. Kind of like a friend. When you enter anything (date of birth, contact information, ect.) you are technically telling Facebook this information. It's no longer private information. When Facebook in turn broadcasts this information to the general public, they're not invading your privacy, they're just playing a very accurate version of broken telephone.
I think the main reason people have with this so-called "privacy" infrigement online is because of the sheer size of it. If my friends told their friends about me, my information still won't get very far. When Facebook tells other users about me, this information is available worldwide. (Of course it still won't get very far simply because people wouldn't care.)
So next time you see someone complaining about their "lack of privacy" over the interenet, remember: what they're actually saying is:
"Oh My Gawd! You know my friend? She told everyone about what I told her about my plastic surgery! And I told her to keep it a secret! I mean, yeah, I told like, 7 of my other friends, my neighbor, the old lady down the street, and my boss about it too, but I told them to NOT tell anyone, so it was STILL a secret!!"
See what I mean?
God bless.
xo, Kayla