Introduction

Facebook - the ubiquitous social networking website - has been causing quite a stir lately with an on-going series of changes to its default privacy settings that make certain of its users' information more public.

As an occasional and somewhat reluctant user of Facebook, my reaction to these changes has been decidedly negative - I do not like them. Sensing that my reaction was more than just a basic desire for privacy, I wondered if there was more to the issue of privacy than mere personal preference. Curious, I began reflecting  more deeply into the fundamental nature of privacy and its role in our lives.

What I came to see is that privacy is about much more than just the satisfaction of a personal preference or desire. Privacy is ultimately a basic human need. Through the relationship between privacy and vulnerability, privacy plays an important role not only in creating intimacy in relationship but in the discovery and realization of our true self.