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Comment by poikroequ | Hacker News Reader

I've seen first hand just how little the average person cares about privacy. The type of people who believe they have nothing to hide. My friends and family don't understand why I don't post everything to social media. No I'm not going to install this app and scan all my receipts. BuT wHy?!?!?!

I think many people here on hackernews live in a bubble and just don't understand what is an average human being. They surround themselves with like-minded tech savvy individuals and fail to comprehend how there isn't stronger support for privacy.

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> I think many people here on hackernews live in a bubble and just don't understand what is an average human being.

Plenty of us understand, but it's depressing and usually trying to explain to others that have a rosier view of how people will react feels a lot like trying to get the people themselves to care, which is to say it's hard, thankless, and depressing, so few people bother.

You don’t want to be responsible for some random receipt 10 years ago that allegedly commits tax fraud, allow influencers to manipulate you into buying things or supporting campaigns that you immediately regret 1 minute later, receive lots of spams in your email and social accounts, etc, and the stakes get higher as you climb up the social ladder. Many of these don’t matter for people with little stakes as they have nothing to lose.

I suspect that people care about privacy more than we think, but the technology feels overwhelming to them, so they bury their heads in the sand.

I don’t even browse in “private mode.” Not because I don’t care, but because I assume it won’t really change anything.

"Private mode" is not private, it even says so in the browser. The nickname "porn mode" is much more accurate term.

Private mode has very little impact on what you share with the world/through the network. It's there to keep your browsing private from people you live with etc., not from anyone else.

I just don't agree at all.

My experience is that people not only do not care about privacy but look at people who care about privacy as having something to hide or paranoid about something that simply doesn't matter.

Disagree with the latter part. You're also not going to have a large effect on those people, but that doesn't mean you should give up on what you believe just because other people can't even bother with it. I stick to my preferences of not using corporate stuff very much. If somebody wonders why and asks, I'll explain. Whether they then decide to do anything about the answer, I don't really care. If they do, then good for them.

What's the alternative anyway? Give up and suck Google's tit every day? It's "fine" if people who don't have the background to understand this issue do so. But if you, having the background and belief to object to such corporate control still choose to look away and do so, then you have willingly demoted yourself to a pathetic Google tit sucker.

I personally care very much about my privacy, but people are people, and most people only care about what directly and immediately affects them. That's the problem with privacy concerns, the negative effects aresubtle and gradual. It's very hard to make people care for that reason.

It's the same reason why it's taken decades to take serious action against climate change. It's only in recent years with extreme weather events and record breaking temperatures that people are finally starting to care because they're finally experiencing the negative effects of climate change. But only to a certain extent, you're still not going to see many people trading in their vehicles for ebikes anytime soon.

> I think many people here on hackernews live in a bubble

and create apps to scan all your receipts, your retinas and then track your movements and sell the data to the highest and the lowest bidder in exchange for a slightly newer Maserati.

i agree. people just dont care. and if everyone did we would be paying cash for the online products we use for free

It’s the “free” price. I used to think it was great! Now it always makes me uneasy.

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