Unfortunately, I'm no exception to this rule. I was in the office one day and received an email from an ex girlfriend that I dated in college. It was not a pleasant surprise since we didn't end our relationship on the best of notes, but I was cordial and asked her how she found me. She said she used a database that specialized in finding the email addresses of people. She didn't harass me or anything like that.

She only contacted me to let me know of a reunion of college friends that was going to occur near the school that we attended. I made sure to ask her if it was ok to bring my wife, not that I was going to go, but just to let her know I was married. She said that it would be fine, since she was bringing her husband. My ego went right out the window. Later that evening I told my wife the story, expecting to get a chuckle from her, she was not amused.

I decided to go online to see exactly how easy it was. I typed my name into one of the popular search endings and was surprised to see my last few addresses show up, including my current one. It also showed my phone number. Sure, I'm listed in the phone book, but until my old girlfriend contacted me, I never realized how vulnerable I was.

Of course I do appreciate the fact that technology allows me to keep track of the people that I want to keep track of. My teenage daughter, for example. We gave her a cell phone for her birthday after she begged and pleaded with us. Our first response was to say no because we know how much she loves to talk on the phone. We figured that she would forget all about overage charges if she were in a conversation with one of her equally chatty girlfriends. Then we decided to give in and let her have it because it's a dangerous world out there and this way she would be able to call us in case of an emergency.

Now I can call her when I want to know where she is and who she's with. She hates getting these calls from me, but I feel better knowing that I can track her down. The phone also has a GPS chip that would allow us to pinpoint her location if she failed to answer the phone.

I am now considering getting an unlisted number for my home phone, for the sake of discretion. I don't know how much good it will do, since my address is on the web, but at least I can kid myself by believing that I can still have a little privacy.