NRL star Mitchell Pearce may not deserve sympathy for his unacceptable behaviour, but the way it was made public highlights a troubling invasion of privacy that we are all susceptible to, writes Simon Tatz.

While the drunken antics of NRL player Mitchell Pearce are being dissected and debated on mainstream and social media, the most critical issue here is not a young man's drunken buffoonery, it is how modern technologies have eroded our privacy and pervaded every aspect of our lives.

Don't worry about Big Brother, data retention, or control of the internet and email - the modern mobile telephone, with its video and audio facilities, is the greatest threat to our privacy. It is not government snooping on us that we should fear, it is us who we should worry about.

We the people now pose the greatest threat to each other. We are snooping, spying, filming, uploading and invading each other's privacy to such an extent that no activity seems off limits.

Let's put to one side the moral and ethical questions about Mitchell Pearce's behaviour and agree that drunken and offensive behaviour is not acceptable. However, in saying that, the incident occurred in a private home. It was not a public act, it wasn't intended to offend the public, and the only reason we know about is because it was secretly recorded.

The footballer was filmed, presumably without his consent, and that footage was sold or provided to the media. End of career.

I have little sympathy for Mitchell Pearce's behaviour, yet I have a little sympathy for the way it has become public.

Now, no party, BBQ, dinner gathering, social event, gig, or any activity, public or private, is immune from being recorded and distributed world-wide. We have no privacy. If it is not mobile phones filming us, it is neighbours with drones.

Those who condemn Mitchell Pearce and demand his sacking and public humiliation should think for a moment about their behaviour.

Imagine having to worry that every time you made a politically incorrect comment in private it could end up on the internet. Imagine every party you've been to, every private gathering, every get together with old friends, being secretly filmed and uploaded. Imagine being filmed in your backyard, or wherever you go, and having that content shared online.

Recently I had my privacy invaded, albeit unintentionally and without malice. My wife and I were holidaying in a reasonably remote part of Asia. We don't travel with mobile phones and we don't tell people where we are going - it's called privacy for a reason.

We had arranged to meet up with friends and take a boat trip up-river for a few days. When we returned to land I used a hotel internet to let family know we were safe and well. There was a message waiting in my inbox saying how happy and relaxed we looked on the boat. I was stunned. How did they know where we were and what we were doing?

It transpired that someone had taken a photo of us on the boat, uploaded it to their Facebook page, where it was tagged and then shared.

No big deal, it was innocent enough and no harm done - unless of course we didn't want to share this experience with others or have the world know where we were and what we did on our holidays. It was not the same intrusion as being filmed wetting your pants and committing a lewd act with an animal, but the principle is similar. Information is being shared without our knowledge or approval - and without the 'sharer' recognising the consequences.

The dilemma that we as a society face is that we have advanced technologies without any privacy policies. Every day, new and potentially more invasive technologies hit the market and yet policy makers seem unable to provide a framework that protects personal privacy.

What did the makers of mobile telephones imagine the consequences would be of arming every user with a camera? What did the designers of YouTube think would happen when everyone with access can upload footage without copyright, authorisation, or even the knowledge of those involved?

So the media and the public will express outrage for or against Mitchell Pearce and the conga line of drunken idiots before (and after) who do things that are offensive. And yet, no matter how much this incident appals me, I am equally disgusted by the commercial media who willingly took a secret recording and exploited it for their own titillation and perverse benefits.

As the cliche goes, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

Simon Tatz is a former senior adviser to both the ALP and Greens. He was Director of Communications for the Mental Health Council of Australia and Media & Marketing Manager for ACT Health.