For the past year or so, a new type of location-based social networking has been growing in popularity. Services like Foursquare, Gowalla and recently Yelp all allow you to “check in” to a local place, allowing everyone to read about not only what you’re doing, but where you’re doing it. I know a lot of people who use these, and while they may seem fun to some, they’re freaking annoying to others, like me.

I mean, I don’t need to know WHERE you are at any specific time. I’m fine with knowing what you’re up to, but I don’t need to know where you are one moment from the next. Also, don’t people worry about broadcasting the fact that they aren’t at home? Sites like Please Rob Me got it right with the idea that all of this is “over sharing”. Too many people are sharing way, way too much information about themselves. This increased narcissism only leads to a further loss in privacy, which could eventually turn around and bite us in the ass.

What happens when a jealous ex uses one of these services to harm either their former lover or the person dating them? What happens when homes actually DO get robbed because people couldn’t shut up about every little miniscule fact of their mundane existences? These services are relatively new, and I don’t think we’ve really seen the downside of them yet. The more comfortable people get with sharing every damned aspect of their lives, the more they open themselves up for problems, I think.

I mean, do you all really need to know that I was using the bathroom at work? Nope, but Foursquare let a co-worker create one of the men’s room stalls as a “place” so we could check in there. I’m currently the “Mayor”. Seriously though, this kind of over-sharing, this kind of extreme narcissism can’t be good in the long run.

This is why I don’t really use these services, because I still want at least SOME privacy. I mean I’m an open book in what I share, but I don’t need people to know the exact Ralph’s I’m at, or whether I’m at a Starbucks, or where I work, etc etc. It’s funny too, every day I pass by a place called a “Foursquare” church on my way to and from work, and I can’t help but giggle. Why? Because I wonder if the increased narcissism from sites like these result in some sort of self-worship, where people think they’re the most important thing in the universe and therefore feel justified in sharing every. Little. Damned. Thing about themselves. Yeah, I said it.

So overall, you might be able to tell that I don’t like services like these, and you’d be correct. I think they’re too invasive, ridiculous, and the more I use them, the more I want to cancel my accounts with them. I mean I love keeping up with my friends’ lives, but for some reason I don’t feel comfortable knowing exactly where they are…maybe it’s a little TOO voyeuristic. That being said, what do you think? Do you think these location-based services are just fun, simple, and silly, or do you see them, as I do, as part of a larger problem? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and thanks for reading.