Exposure in the 21st Century

Exposure, right off the bat, is the act of revealing, unmasking, or presenting oneself or rather something. However, the term exposure can mean different things from different aspects. The term has changed drastically in many senses. First, in a biology sense, it refers to “poor health, results from lack of protection over a prolonged period,” as stated by wikipedia.org. In ancient time, people did not that live long, therefore, dieases and disorders that is common today were not seen. However, today, the life span of an average person and the number of dieases have increased. People are "exposed" to many more disorders and dieases such as STDs to disorders such as Panic Attack Disorder. Could this increase in different sicknesses be due to our exposure to harmful chemicals created by humans? Or could it be that these disorders have long existed but were not acknowledge? Or rather, these sicknesses were seen as being possessed by devils or a looked at as a form of punishment by god?

Exposure in a photography sense means something totally different. It is the “Total amount of light allowed to fall on the sensor during the process of taking a photograph,” is another definition written on Wikipedia. But exposure in this sense makes me think of the creation of web cameras, digital cameras, and most importantly the camera phones that many of us cannot live without. A form of exposure in the 21st century in a photography sense can very well be expressed through convenient mobile cameras. About twenty years ago, it was very common to see tourists as well as regular individuals carrying around huge bulky cameras. I remember my dad used to carry one around in a bag that consist of an adapter, a foldable tripod, and some wires you have to attach to the camera in order for it to function. On top of that, we have to wait for days to see the images. It was heavy and inconvenient. Fast forward to today with advanced technology, we are blessed to fit our cameras inside a small bag or wear it around our wrist. Some cell phones also come with a camera function that allows people to snap quick photos and then share them with family and friends instantly. Maybe in another 20 years, our species can come up with another type of camera that is even more convenient. Say, contact lenses that acts as a camera so we are able to keep a copy of images we see with our own eyes. Now that's what I call convenient.

Exposure in entertainment specifies the practice of revealing yourself publicly designed to rouse public interest. I remember watching VH1 on the history of "Playboy" and how it came about. Decades ago, images of nude women on magazine covers were starting to become a trend. More and more magazines started to adopt the popular selling images of sexy "exposed" women. However, it was very uncommon to see regular everyday women taking nude or sexy pictures of themselves and publicizing them. It seemed more appropriate for models or famous superstars to engage in these photo shoots than for common people. But living in today’s world, it "seems" that more and more women are exposing their bodies and there are many ways to to do this. One very popular way to maximize presentation of an exposed self would be a form of visual exposure. Images are common and many online networks such as Myspace and Facebook encourages people to pose their pictures online. It has become the trend that if you have sexually explicit visual images on your profile, people are more likely to want to be your friends, as in the case with uprising celebrity Tila Tequila. She started out with a Myspace page posting very implicit images of herself in bikinis and other almost nude photos. She quickly became the number one person on myspace with the most friends. From this online fame, she was able to earn a reality show and that sparked her career in the entertainment business. This may be a reason why more females are posting revealing photos of themselves. In addition, a site called, "Ratemypix.com" seem to encourage others to rate how attractive a person look on a scale of one to ten. Many people who seek attention or want to be view as "sexy" or "attractive" and to earn a ten will want to expose themselves to get the attention they crave for. A female who pose a bikini photo of herself is more likely to earn a ten than a female who pose a headshot image or one without showing any skin.

On a lawful point relating to indecent exposure, it is the “display of unclothed parts of the human body against local custom and law.” This statement seems to apply to past generations because obviously in today’s society, you don’t see teenage girls getting arrested for posting nearly nude photos of themselves online or see people at nude beaches getting fined. Nudity, to a certain extent, has shifted from being unlawful to a form of tolerable public attention even if it is considered immoral or distasteful by many. I mean if people were to run around in public naked, they would still get fine but the point is, nudity isn’t as an extreme problem in our society anymore, rather it seems more embraced and encouraged by the media and particularly the entertainment world as stated above. Our history of body exposure has changed from seeing mainly celebrities baring skin to seeing the average person baring it all. Moreover, would it be alarming if it became a trend or even the norm to see naked bodies everywhere in the future? But maybe the future of this trend is actually going backward in time to continue what used to be the norm, at least for cavemen. They did not wear much clothes and did not mind exposing their bodies. So maybe it wouldn't be that alarming since we were once that way. Maybe when we are exposing ourselves through explicit images, we can say that we are actually connecting with our roots? So any takers to continue an old trend?