Author Essays, Interviews, and Excerpts, Sociology

Christena Nippert-Eng on secrets

jacket imageFor a dizzying number of reasons, privacy is a highly contested issue right now. In one high-profile case, last month a student at Rutgers University committed suicide after having his privacy publicly violated by his roommate. That incident led to a great deal of discussion on a range of issues from hate crimes and bullying to the question of whether a generation that has grown up with the Internet and social media will have a radically different approach to privacy than their elders. Of course, that remains to be seen, but in the meantime Christena Nippert-Eng is here to explain to us how privacy works in the here and now. Packed with stories that are funny and sad, familiar and strange, Islands of Privacy tours the myriad arenas where privacy battles are fought, lost, and won.
Nippert-Eng stopped by WBEZ’s Eight Forty-Eight yesterday to talk about these issues, to respond to some brave Chicagoans willing to spill their secrets, and to take questions on everything from cyberstalking to the relief of confession. Head to WBEZ’s newly redesigned site to listen.