Digital technology, maybe specifically the internet, has made it ridiculously easy to masquerade surveillance as convenience.

Email is convenient. It also means a handful of companies have direct access to a mountain of unencrypted messages.

Social media is convenient. Its also an excellent way to track people, as well as influence and even silence them.

Wearable devices and smart appliances are convenient. Again, though, they quite often come with poor security measures and collection of data that people would be shocked by if they ever actually saw what was collected.

"We promise Alexa only listens when you say the right phrase." Just don't ask how it knows when you say it without first listening.