In cellular future, will privacy ebb?

[CShine]

Since cellphones first began sending peals of "The Entertainer" through restaurants, they have offered one unique advantage: privacy. With no public directory of wireless numbers, cellphone users could be sure that every ring was personal - no crank callers, or telemarketers. By early next year, however, that could change. The cellphone industry is working on a directory that would, for the first time, make public many of America's 163 million wireless numbers.

Critics say the move could undermine the very allure of cellphones - the ability to avoid unwanted callers. Yet, to others, it points to something deeper: how cellphones are changing the way the world communicates. They are no longer simply glorified cordless phones. Wireless phones are Internet ports and photo galleries that distill rock videos and political revolution into a pocket-size neon box with an assortment of rings. For many people, they are the primary connection to the broader world.

Now, that concept of a cellphone is clashing with that of those who would just as soon be left alone. As a result, the wireless directory is becoming a touchstone in the battle to ensure that anonymity does not mean isolation in an increasingly interconnected world.

"Technology is a double-edged sword for many consumers," says Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington. "There's the promise of all these wonderful things, but on the other hand, you have to give up a measure of privacy - and this is a perfect example of that."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0602/p01s01-ussc.html

[Kenneth ken]

1. bah

I don't see why cell phone users are worried about privacy. Every one of them talks thre times as loud as normal when they're on the dang thing - so everyone within shouting distance knows all the cell users business anyway.

kidding, sort of. If I had a cell phone, I wouldn't want phone solicitors calling me. But I do get a little annoyed having to listen to other people's conversations.