CNN's Paula Zahn Discusses Ryan Fitzgerald and Give Me a Call

Paula Zahn Now - Aired April 25, 2007 - Americans spend more time alone in the car, alone at their desk, alone in their lives. But they still want to connect, which might explain the incredible popularity of [w]eb sites like MySpace and Facebook. It's a way to reach out and communicate, sometimes anonymously.

On the [w]eb site postsecret.com, people send in anonymous post cards revealing their innermost secrets and confessions. Some incredibly personal. There are want ads for friends on Craigslist. Clearly America is lonely. So lonely that [they will] reach out to anyone who's willing to listen.

Earlier this week [Paula Zahn] talked with Ryan Fitzgerald, the young man who put his cell phone number on YouTube (see clip) for anyone who needed to talk. He says he has gotten nearly 10,000 calls just in the past few days…What kind of a vulnerable position is Ryan putting himself in and potentially some of the people he is giving advice to? (Read full article.)

Ryan’s experiment raises several questions with respect to personal safety. Ryan has supplied his name, likeness, and cell phone number to millions of people. In his interview with Ms. Zahn, Ryan discusses a conversation he had with a caller who wanted to hurt himself over a failed relationship. If perchance the distraught individual did injure himself, would someone blame Ryan and seek revenge?

Ryan’s “advice” is not anonymous. With web sites like zabasearch and zoominfo, private and personal information is easily accessible. Even if someone takes precautions to use pseudonyms, public and non-traceable email addresses, etc., it is not guaranteed that the individual’s friends and family have taken the same precautions.

Someone’s “private” MySpace Account is no longer “private” if their best friend has a non-private account and blogs freely. Although one can take care not to broadcast their personal identifying information, it is available, and if someone really wants to know who you are, there are ways to find out.