I try to be an advocate for privacy. I really do. But everyone just calls me paranoid, asks why I need to be worried about my government like I have something to hide, or just stares blankly at me because they can't be bothered to actually think about the words climbing through their ears.
I'm going mental over the explosion of televisions in the last half decade which identify and report any content you watch on the TV by default, in exchange for 100-150 off the television (which was fluff to begin with... it's not a direct trade of $100 for your data).
I've set up about a dozen of these now for people and they just stare blankly while I try to explain what "Auto Content Recognition" means... Hello 1984.
I'm right there with you. Most people write it off as paranoia and give the tired "Doesn't matter if you have nothing to hide". I think the problem is the only reason we have to convince people to change is just principles. There is no existential reason right now to convince people to change their behavior. Sure it's scary having large entities vacuum up our data and spy on us but so far there are no real bad effects on the users being spied on that I know of.
These companies would not be wrapping their practices in secrecy and lobbying against user rights unless there were sinister aspects of Big Data.
And it's not just principles. The effects of Big Data are extremely tangible even if not to you in this particular time or space. Some feel the effects now, others will feel them later in life.
I'm worried my children or grandchildren could one day be denied healthcare or adequate education or loans or low insurance payments just because of my attitude towards my government and every other aspect of my lifestyle which gets swept up and analyzed by for-profit robot armies bent on achieving the Holy Margin.
I'm going mental over the explosion of televisions in the last half decade which identify and report any content you watch on the TV by default, in exchange for 100-150 off the television (which was fluff to begin with... it's not a direct trade of $100 for your data).
I've set up about a dozen of these now for people and they just stare blankly while I try to explain what "Auto Content Recognition" means... Hello 1984.