Are we all becoming voyeurs?

Are we all becoming voyeurs?

Tue, Mar 31, 2009 AsiaOne

By Chew Hui Min

Public censure could not restrain them, the disapproving stares of onlookers did not curb their passion.

But camera phones and the Internet seem to have effectively deterred couples from public displays of affection (PDA).

The latest photos to have hit Stomp were of a couple who were behaving extremely intimately in the swimming pool of their condominium in Bukit Timah.

The reader who took their pictures on Mar 27 said in an email to Stomp:

"The couple seems to be enjoying their daytime making out in the pool. They thought that everyone would be busy at work or school, and that no one would be around to catch them in the act.

"Well...you should think again before you do such things in a public area.

"And some advice, try to do it away from the CCTV."

Good advice perhaps.

Eight in 10 fear being filmed in public

After a slew of explicit videos on the Internet filmed in places ranging from playgrounds, condo pools to East Coast breakwaters, eight out of 10 couples interviewed by Lianhe Wanbao said that they would think twice before being affectionate in public.

In addition, some said that they were more wary of being caught eating in the MRT train, not giving up their seats or unwittingly 'exposing themselves'.

Ms Ang, a 28-year-old admin executive said she did not dare pick up the phone when she drove because she did not want to be caught talking on the phone while driving.

"We should have rights to our own images, or privacy laws to protect us," she told Wanbao.

Then there are those who happily expose themselves, upload clips and boast of their exploits in blogs and forums, like Gary Ng - Singapore's "Edison Chen".

The speed at which his posts have spread is mind-boggling on one hand, and yet so predictable - because it is simply human nature.

Do most of us really want to see amateurish videos and badly taken photos of normal, naked people in unsavoury positions? Perhaps not that much.

But google and ogle we did, because it was just one or two clicks away.

In one Singlish word, it's called being "kaypoh" - and now that information is practically ubiquitous, we can all indulge our curiosity in private, and with much greater ease.

Netizens react

While some bemoan such "immoral" behaviour, readers have also written in our forums to say that there's nothing wrong with behaving intimately in public places.

Some question the motives of the readers who uploaded these videos, warning the ladies to "beware of Peeping Toms", and there are even those who complain that the photos are not explicit enough.

So, will you click here to see the photos of the indiscreet couple in the pool?

Whichever type of voyeur you are, or even if you are not one at all, you probably have company.