this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
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Privacy

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Today I was contacted by someone at work. She graduated school with me and our 20 year reunion was coming up. Why did she contact me at work? It was the only way they were able to track me down. I was included in promotional material by name. She told me I "was the hardest to track down"and I had to smile.

This is just a small anecdote about privacy practices and their real life impact (and how your employer can undo all of it, I guess)

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[–] [email protected] 168 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Call me pessimistic, but I do think:

  • Privacy is an illusion.
  • Control is an illusion (a reference to Mr. Robot).

Certainly, we can do a lot to have more privacy, but it is an illusion to think that we have complete control over it. Especially with social media, jobs, and today's technology.

[–] [email protected] 88 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You're right, but that doesn't mean we have to give up completely.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

daydream, i feel asleep amid the flowers

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Morality is just as much of an illusion, doesn't mean you should be allowed to smash someone's skull in with a brick. Social constructs and social contract were dreamed up by our species because they work and have utility.

So we better fucking do everything we CAN to sustain the "illusions*.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It seems like my comment has upset you or at least agitated you, if that’s not the case – it’s the impression you gave me.

I never said that we should ‘’not do everything we can’’; of course, we should. But that certainly does not mean we control everything. No matter how hard you try and how well you manage to maintain both privacy and control, at some point there will be a ‘’leak’’. Not by you but perhaps by your job, your family, friends or acquaintance. There are to many external things to have 100% control.

In today’s era, both privacy and control are truly mere illusions because you can maintain your privacy and believe you are in control, yet somewhere along the way, you leave a trail behind, especially with technology. I’m not sure why you brought ‘’morality’’ into the discussion of privacy and control – because that’s a whole other argument. This post and my comments were merely about these two.

Though, I did not expect my comment to get this much attention. It's just my personal opinion, you can agree and disagree.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Your first comment sounded a little defeatist, I think that's it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

It's all good, my irreverent tone didn't come across right

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Morality is not an illusion, it's a social construct.

Absolute privacy is an illusion, because it doesn't really exist, and if you believe you have achieved it you are fooling yourself.

they are not really comparable concepts.