Promoting absolute openness disregards the privilege of most people in the tech scene. It is one thing for a wealthy, white male programmer to admit that he sometimes smokes pot. It is another for an undocumented worker to publicize his immigration status, or for a woman escaping a domestic violence situation to reveal her home address. Advocating “openness” ignores the very circumstances that may make self-disclosure dangerous. Furthermore, upholding personal transparency as an ideal supports the business models of social software, which profit from information disclosure.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 620