Madonna's Boyfriend, Paparazzi in the Hamptons, Facebook and Social Media
Today we got to learn that Madonna has a 24-year old boyfriend named Brahim Zaibat that is a French break dancer and likes to make out with the 53-year-old on the beach in the Hamptons. People Magazine has a photo and it kind of weirded me out, and not because of the age difference. Oh no, I have absolutely no problem with the age difference between this couple. In fact, cougars are quite possibly one of the most important groups of people on the face of this planet.
What did creep me out, however, was the fact that picture of the pair got up on the Internet so quickly. This says to me that the paparazzi are quietly making their way out to the Hamptons, and I think that would an absolute nightmare for the East End. Having photographers from magazines attend parties for celebrities to get their photo taken is one thing. Having grown men get dressed up in military gear and hoisting around cameras with telescopic lenses while camped out down the beach, waiting for you to make out with your girlfriend, is another.
What’s even crazier is that I heard about this information (Madonna making out with her boyfriend on the beach) from a friend of mine, who found out about it from a friend of his on Facebook, who isn’t really his friend at all. A big part of what I do for a living has very much to do with the world of digital technology, and it still amazes me, and sometimes even spooks me out.
Recently Facebook has been targeted by an anonymous hacker — appropriately named “Anonymous” — for using information that it gets from its users and selling it to the government. And if you think about it, Facebook most likely, does this very thing. I’d even go as far to say that every single thing that has ever been posted on Facebook has a price, and I don’t think that is such a good thing. Privacy, after all, is extremely important, and it wasn’t long ago when people were willing to go to extreme measures to maintain privacy. Think about for a second how important our government’s secrets are and the lengths that they go to to protect them. The same is true for individuals. Nobody wants to reveal everything about their entire lives, but some do — a bit inadvertently — because they think it is fun and safe to do when it really isn’t.
The reality check is that nobody, not even the celebrities, like it when their private lives are put up on display for the world to see.
However, I will say, that if I was making out with Madonna on the beach in Bridgehampton, I’d have that photo up on my Facebook or Google Plus page faster than you can say “upload.” I don’t, however, have a personal social networking page. I demand my privacy!
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