Q&A243: Why don't people care about privacy? Is it true Proton is accepting Monero? How can you get involved in the fight for privacy? And more! Join our next Q&A on Patreon: https://www.pa...
I really find that most people I talk to do care about privacy. If I ask a person why they have window blinds and black out curtains, they will most likely say ‘to give me privacy’. Why do you have a key that goes to the lock on your front door? Well, that’s to prevent unauthorized access. So, the average person on the street does value privacy, security, and anonymity, there is just this disconnect between their daily real life, and their digital life. They just may not understand that in 2025, there is no real defining line between their real lives and their digital lives. It’s one in the same.
I don’t know too many people that would let me come into their house, use their resources to profit my company, without giving them due compensation. That would be ludicrous. Yet, they just don’t understand that this is exactly what happens with their digital data. Your data is bought and sold as a commodity, on a cyclical basis to bolster the profits of a corporation, without giving you due compensation. In 2025, surveillance capitalism and governmental surveillance are teaming up. More coverage.
So, yes, I would say that the common man in the street does value privacy, they just don’t quite understand the complexities that are going on behind the pretty pictures on their computer monitor. We, as the ‘enlightened’ are charged with educating the masses in lieu of condemning them for what they don’t understand.
These are my opinions. There are many like them, but these are mine.
So let’s think about that. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve had a computer in front of me since the mid 70s. We are experienced. We understand. We get what’s going on behind all the pretty pictures, apps, and whatnot. Why? Because at some point in our lives we showed more than a general interest in computers or networking and have educated ourselves over the years. However, even tho I have had a computer since the mid 70s, I will openly admit, computers and networking are fucking complex. If IT/Computer knowledge was a 25’ tape measure, I’m probably at the 1" mark.
So, lets take the average family for example; two adults and 2-3 kids running around. Unless you are quite fortunate in life, it usually takes 2 incomes to make ends meet. Two adults go to work, come home exhausted. Try to spend a little time with the family, and collapse in bed to do it all over again tomorrow. On the weekends, again, time with family, extracurricular activities for the kids, try to get caught up on house hold chores, etc. Monday comes quick. The average person in this scenario doesn’t have time to read an IT textbook, or absorb the complexities of networking, or understand all the intricacies of preventing data leaks. What they know is that when the go to use their device, shit just works. If not, it’s off to a repair shop.
They are not stupid, or normies, or any of the other condescending labels affixed to them. They just don’t understand whats going on behind the scenes. It would be like me, a mildly educated man, trying to understand the complexities of brain surgery. Sure, I know where the brain is, I’ve seen MRI scans of mine (which has been damaged), but I have little idea how all of that works beyond when I get out of bed in the morning, the shit better work, or it’s off to the doctor’s office. I could just hear the neurologist asking me in regards to the intricate, inner machinations of my brain; ‘What? Are you just willfully stupid?’ It’s not that I’m stupid, it’s just that I haven’t had 15 years of structured, medical, education.
I just think that we will win over more converts using a different approach. A little sugar in lieu of vinegar.
I really find that most people I talk to do care about privacy. If I ask a person why they have window blinds and black out curtains, they will most likely say ‘to give me privacy’. Why do you have a key that goes to the lock on your front door? Well, that’s to prevent unauthorized access. So, the average person on the street does value privacy, security, and anonymity, there is just this disconnect between their daily real life, and their digital life. They just may not understand that in 2025, there is no real defining line between their real lives and their digital lives. It’s one in the same.
I don’t know too many people that would let me come into their house, use their resources to profit my company, without giving them due compensation. That would be ludicrous. Yet, they just don’t understand that this is exactly what happens with their digital data. Your data is bought and sold as a commodity, on a cyclical basis to bolster the profits of a corporation, without giving you due compensation. In 2025, surveillance capitalism and governmental surveillance are teaming up. More coverage.
So, yes, I would say that the common man in the street does value privacy, they just don’t quite understand the complexities that are going on behind the pretty pictures on their computer monitor. We, as the ‘enlightened’ are charged with educating the masses in lieu of condemning them for what they don’t understand.
So… The answer is (willfull) stupidity. Those same people say “because I have nothing to hide” with reference to their devices.
These are my opinions. There are many like them, but these are mine.
So let’s think about that. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve had a computer in front of me since the mid 70s. We are experienced. We understand. We get what’s going on behind all the pretty pictures, apps, and whatnot. Why? Because at some point in our lives we showed more than a general interest in computers or networking and have educated ourselves over the years. However, even tho I have had a computer since the mid 70s, I will openly admit, computers and networking are fucking complex. If IT/Computer knowledge was a 25’ tape measure, I’m probably at the 1" mark.
So, lets take the average family for example; two adults and 2-3 kids running around. Unless you are quite fortunate in life, it usually takes 2 incomes to make ends meet. Two adults go to work, come home exhausted. Try to spend a little time with the family, and collapse in bed to do it all over again tomorrow. On the weekends, again, time with family, extracurricular activities for the kids, try to get caught up on house hold chores, etc. Monday comes quick. The average person in this scenario doesn’t have time to read an IT textbook, or absorb the complexities of networking, or understand all the intricacies of preventing data leaks. What they know is that when the go to use their device, shit just works. If not, it’s off to a repair shop.
They are not stupid, or normies, or any of the other condescending labels affixed to them. They just don’t understand whats going on behind the scenes. It would be like me, a mildly educated man, trying to understand the complexities of brain surgery. Sure, I know where the brain is, I’ve seen MRI scans of mine (which has been damaged), but I have little idea how all of that works beyond when I get out of bed in the morning, the shit better work, or it’s off to the doctor’s office. I could just hear the neurologist asking me in regards to the intricate, inner machinations of my brain; ‘What? Are you just willfully stupid?’ It’s not that I’m stupid, it’s just that I haven’t had 15 years of structured, medical, education.
I just think that we will win over more converts using a different approach. A little sugar in lieu of vinegar.