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I don't know whether to be encouraged or disturbed by the notion of having wearable cameras become socially acceptable. On one hand, I would think this could b

I don't know whether to be encouraged or disturbed by the notion of having wearable cameras become socially acceptable. On one hand, I would think this could be a major crime deterrent - the idea of a "witness" could become quaint as any crime could easily be captured with a time/location stamp. But it could also be a major altering of norms. Are women comfortable with the idea that any guy looking at them on the street can capture their image?

dpark 15y ago
How is this actually any different than today? There's nothing stopping me from popping up my phone to take a picture or video in a public space. There's also nothing stopping me from wearing a pinhole camera all the time. If these became common, then obviously there would be more cameras on at all times, but the fundamentals wouldn't be any different. It seems like the biggest difference is that if a ton of people were wearing these all the time, police couldn't tell everyone to turn them off. If they looked like normal glasses, they wouldn't even know.
- saturdaysaint 15y ago
  I agree that in a way, this would only intensify effects of camera-equipped cellphones. I have a pet theory that ever-present camera-phones are responsible for at least some of the drop in crime in the last decade. And while the controversy has gone away, there were a lot of overblown concerns about "camera-phones in locker rooms" in the early 00's. The difference is speed. You'd always have a camera aimed at whatever you were looking at. If you saw a mugger grab a purse, you might not have the presence of mind to fumble with your phone, but you might be able to press a button or say "take picture" (or whatever). I'd imagine that a decrease in response time could be a real deterrent. I know there've been spy cams forever, but I'd argue that merely owning one (let alone openly displaying it) would mark you for suspicion among a lot of people and I don't think they're widely used. I'm not saying it's the end of the world, but there are some new privacy norms that will be established if these are to take off.
  - yew 15y ago
    You've not heard of lifelogging? It was mentioned up/down thread. It's hardly common at the moment but the privacy concerns are older than Google as a company.
eneveu 15y ago
That was my first thought. It would be hard to relax when you know that everything you do may be recorded... The bad joke I just made? My attempt at dancing? Expressing your feelings on a bad day? A date gone wrong? With social networks and internet, managing one's "online identity" and privacy is increasingly important. Everything you say online might be stored and retrieved later. It's hard enough when you are an adult. But what about kid/teenn, who is still trying to find his identity, and might say things that he regrets later on? What happens when real life is logged?

dpark 15y ago

How is this actually any different than today? There's nothing stopping me from popping up my phone to take a picture or video in a public space. There's also nothing stopping me from wearing a pinhole camera all the time. If these became common, then obviously there would be more cameras on at all times, but the fundamentals wouldn't be any different. It seems like the biggest difference is that if a ton of people were wearing these all the time, police couldn't tell everyone to turn them off. If they looked like normal glasses, they wouldn't even know.

saturdaysaint 15y ago
I agree that in a way, this would only intensify effects of camera-equipped cellphones. I have a pet theory that ever-present camera-phones are responsible for at least some of the drop in crime in the last decade. And while the controversy has gone away, there were a lot of overblown concerns about "camera-phones in locker rooms" in the early 00's. The difference is speed. You'd always have a camera aimed at whatever you were looking at. If you saw a mugger grab a purse, you might not have the presence of mind to fumble with your phone, but you might be able to press a button or say "take picture" (or whatever). I'd imagine that a decrease in response time could be a real deterrent. I know there've been spy cams forever, but I'd argue that merely owning one (let alone openly displaying it) would mark you for suspicion among a lot of people and I don't think they're widely used. I'm not saying it's the end of the world, but there are some new privacy norms that will be established if these are to take off.
- yew 15y ago
  You've not heard of lifelogging? It was mentioned up/down thread. It's hardly common at the moment but the privacy concerns are older than Google as a company.

eneveu 15y ago

That was my first thought. It would be hard to relax when you know that everything you do may be recorded... The bad joke I just made? My attempt at dancing? Expressing your feelings on a bad day? A date gone wrong? With social networks and internet, managing one's "online identity" and privacy is increasingly important. Everything you say online might be stored and retrieved later. It's hard enough when you are an adult. But what about kid/teenn, who is still trying to find his identity, and might say things that he regrets later on? What happens when real life is logged?