Why Sam Armytage would like more privacy
“Everybody knows everything these days,” Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage bemoans. “And it’s not just the leaking of state secrets, or hackers into your Netflix password. It’s the complete loss of privacy at our own hands.”
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I want to be let alone. We all know the line, made famous by film legend Greta Garbo, who bemoaned the spotlight and sought solitude from the then-“crazy” world of Hollywood.
But honestly? The woman was born almost 90 years before the invention of the smartphone, so I’m failing to see what, exactly, was bugging her.
While I’m sure her life was dogged by paparazzi (who probably took three weeks to develop their film) and she didn’t have five minutes to herself, the grand old dame did not have to contend with the worthless ramblings of Twitter, or with Facebook trying to flog her deepest darkest secrets to Cambridge Analytica.
But I am starting to know how the iconic Swede felt, quite apart from her disdain for the tabloids and her lack of enthusiasm for silent movies.
Everybody knows everything these days. And it’s not just the leaking of state secrets, or the Russians into the Americans’ emails, or even the hackers into your Netflix password. It’s the complete loss of privacy at our own hands.
I “know” people on Instagram, people I’ve never actually met, whose houses I could guide you around. I know which kitchen cupboard they keep the glasses in as well as the contents of their fridge.
I know their children’s names. I know where and when they’re on holidays, when they’re in hospital and where their parents live.
All this personal bean-spilling is enough to make me jumpy, and Garbo roll in her grave. We do actually have a Privacy Act in this country.
Admittedly it was written in 1988, when Die Hard was in the cinemas, Expo and perms were cool and the Iron Curtain was still hanging. Ironically, it was in that same year that Roy Orbison crooned, “She’s a mystery girl...” — in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful songs ever sung.
And, sisters, listen up! There’s power in being a little mysterious.
The royal family has an expression: Don’t let daylight in upon the magic. They know maintaining the monarchy’s mystery is its “light”, and staying above the mud-slinging of politics and not having every move recorded or reported has been the secret to their longevity.
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Because it doesn’t take Agatha Christie to work out everything looks more enchanting from a distance. (Don’t believe me? Just ask our studio camera crew when they have to do close-up shots of me at 4 o’clock every morning.)
But it seems none of us commoners really want our privacy anymore. How does a person command respect, levitate above the politics of daily life and be dignified when their daily Instagram feed is begging to be filled with celebrity selfies and photos of food?
Is seclusion a thing anymore? Or is it merely a boutique luxury spa resort in the Blue Mountains?
Would more privacy make us all happier? In the not-too-distant future, I’m sure our cars and fridges and toothbrushes and coffee machines will be talking to each other and sharing our most private details... most probably with the neighbours and Woman’s Day.
So Garbo should thank her lucky stars that she’s no longer around to witness Bec and Lleyton Hewitt’s 50th divorce, Kate Middleton’s 12th pregnancy — or anything written about Samantha Armytage.
Samantha co-hosts Sunrise, 5.30am weekdays, on the Seven Network.