Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
[...] What I would like, though, is for others to figure out that their views on privacy and corporations aren't universally held by all. It's not always lack of facts, or knowledge that make people do/use things that they themselves find abhorrent. It's often because many people are different from them, and worry about other things more. Please consider proselytizing less. That's not at all a moderator warning. That's just from a normal (knowledgeable) user who's sick and tired of people treating those who care about different things like they're idiots who don't know the score yet.
My eyes are wide open. I just happen to think "privacy" on the internet is overrated. You want privacy? Live off the grid. Stay off the internet. It's a huge bazaar where no one should expect any. Everybody is always going to be up in your business on the internet.
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On a personal, it's all about me level, I can appreciate the argument, and even agree that too often the opposing arguments assume too much. Not everyone is ignorant of their lack of privacy.
More interesting to me are the social rather than personal implications. It seems apparent that the majority of people either don't care or don't know, it doesn't really matter which, because the result is is normalised behaviour in support of business models with no respect for user privacy. A few security breaches here and there end up having almost no impact on a business, so they have no incentive to improve.
The upshot of that, as you point out, requires anyone who wants to retain their privacy must stay off the grid. If only it were that simple! It is getting harder and harder to live life with no smartphone and no internet connection. Local businesses and local government services are closing because so many people are operating online, but their closures further limits the options of those who don't want to live online. A lot businesses operate on the assumption you are online - even just verifying who you are is more and more tied to your phone or email account.
Our personal choices have impacts beyond ourselves. For myself, I'd prefer that businesses had stronger incentives to protect our privacy. If we users will not provide that incentive (by knowing and caring about it ourselves) then it may be that government will intervene and that tends to be a rather blunt instrument.