Coming out of hiding to ask this.....

[PhotoJunkie]

I have an odd situation that I would like some outside opinions on.  Being a hermit and shy, I don't read social things well at all.  Plus in this case I was with my sister and her strong opinions on things often color and affect my thinking so I thought I would ask you guys

 

I was in an all weekend training class.  There were 9 of us and out of the 9 I only knew my sister.  Not my favorite thing to do but classes are interesting and I can usually keep to myself When I take them with my sister, I inevitably get drawn into talking to people a little.  its hard not to around her....people just love to interact with her and I get dragged along   Not always a bad thing.

 

At the very end of the course, we had to do a practical that lasted several hours and HIGH stress.  Mostly brought on by ourselves lol, but still very stressful.  I was relaxing at the back for a few, trying to decompress as there were some small triggering events (my victim died and I had to calm the husband down, the actors were very very good)  plus iVe spent three days with strangers etc. 

 

One of the guys in the class sat down next to me and showed me his phone.  He said that one of the other participants had taken a photo of the sign in log which contained our full names, email addresses and phone numbers.  He asked me if I was indeed the person on the list he thought and I did without thinking.  Normally I would have been quite upset over the whole photo of my personal info thing but I was exhausted, dehydrated and overwhelmed so I just went with it.  He said great and made some comment about texting me/calling me later for his daughters who want to be nurses.  He also made a statement about checking in with my sister and then he left. 

 

I checked with my sister.  He didn't talk to her before he left.  He just told her bye and went to his car. 

 

So before I give you my daughters and my sisters thoughts.....what do you guys think?  Now that Im thinking clearly Im a little bugged about the photo.  He's a nice guy from what I was able to see in 3 days but I think I talked to him maybe all of 10-15 minutes.  Do people really grab strangers numbers for their kids to talk to? 

 

[Wheelerswife]

Hi, PJ,

 

Confidentiality isn't easy to maintain these days, is it?  I work at a university and students' activities are tracked constantly through the swiping of their student ID's.  I don't like it myself...it feels kind of Big Brother-like to me, but it seems to be the way these days.

 

Many people now capture information on their phones/cameras.  Students take photos of whiteboards, PowerPoint slides, etc.  I have a feeling this person may not have realized how intrusive his actions may have felt to another person in the class.  As it becomes even more the norm to take pictures of everything such as the food we eat and black eyes from walking into cupboard doors, people extend the picture taking to personal information belonging to someone else.

 

Hugs,

 

Maureen

[imissdow]

Sounds to me like a excuse to call you later. I have on occasion grabbed someone's number for one of my kids usally thinking better of it later unless it is for some type of service.  Being that it was a professional training type situation he might have thought nothing of it. If it bothers you don't return a call. I'm not real crazy about guys figuring out how to get my number without ask me personally.

[RobFTC]

I think the guy should not have had your information without asking you for it; the photo wasn't OK, whatever his motivations were.

 

Take care,

Rob T

[Suki1]

Hi PJ,

 

It would have been polite for him to ask you for your info directly. I think the real question is what his motive is. He might be harmless and just wanting to get in touch later, as imissdow mentioned. Or he might be accustomed to doing like the students Maureen sees do. In my own case, I take photos of just about everything I want to remember, and I can imagine someone doing what he did without having a negative intention. (And I'm pretty protective of my own privacy.) He could also, of course, be up to no good. But who knows?

 

Maybe you could exchange a few phone calls/texts/emails first to get a better idea of where he's coming from. And if you decide to see him, choose a public place. I hope it all works out well, whatever you choose to do.