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I mean our main chat environments, such as Facebook and Gmail. Displaying the fact that I have read the message at 4:20 pm, or making my status "available" without asking me.

And also trying literally everything to keep me from disabling those features.

So my question is how is this OK? Why there is no law against this?

P.S. : The title is probably a little biased but I couldn't put it in a more politically correct way.

P.s. 2 : I added "without asking us" to the title. Because I still think the fact that I have clicked a checkbox does not mean I agree with it.

jeff
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  • Is there any chance you could narrow/clarify the problem here a little bit further? Maybe it might be better to zoom into the point you're making about clicking a checkbox -- there's a really specific question that could be posed about the volumes of text associated with terms-of-service, which guarantee they won't be read entirely. – Joseph Weissman Jan 10 '15 at 00:49
  • @JosephWeissman you are right. I remember the Human Centipede episode of South Park :) But my problem is with the fact that I do not get an option of not sharing an information, when it is clearly possible. Shouldn't this be a crime or something against human rights? I don't know if these are big words for what I'm trying to describe but I think I formed a more valid question :) Should I add this to the main question? – jeff Jan 10 '15 at 03:22

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Good question.

First, you should be vividly aware that, no matter what they display, you have absolutely no privacy. People with sufficient privileges know everything about you. If your co-worker has a part-time job with FBI or some other government agencies, she or he not only knows your past but also your future with remarkable accuracy.

Secondly, humans behave better when they know they are being watched. Since you are being watched all the time any ways, it is better to let you know that you are being watched lest you do something silly unaware.

Finally, If you live long enough, you will make mistakes. But there is no reason for you to wallow in sin, because morality is nonsense. Why curse the fig tree when the time of figs is not yet?

George Chen
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  • Thanks for your answer. For the second part, I have read that people behave differently when they know they are being watched. An experiment showed that man tried to walk more manly in front of a woman's gaze, and vice versa. Since you are not your true self, how can you behave better? – jeff Oct 10 '14 at 00:11
  • @CengizFrostclaw - Good question. I concede I was not clear about "better." But there are things people would definitely not do in public. Since we are being watched any ways, it is better to make us vividly aware that we are being watched. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 00:23
  • I don't mean being watched is good, but privacy, like starry nights, has become a thing of the past. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 00:56
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    "... humans behave better when they know they are being watched." Actually, as East Germany showed us, they behave much worse. It's freedom that makes people behave better. Count me solidly in opposition to your ideas. – user4894 Oct 10 '14 at 01:34
  • @user4894 - We need to single out contributing factors. It is Marxism that poisons the heart. Orthodox Marxism preaches hatred, and hatred once indulged beyond a point becomes a habit(I borrowed this phrase from Russell). – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 02:45
  • The contrast can also be seen between HongKonger and Mainlanders, and between those who were born after Mao was dead and those whose adolescent years overlapped with Mao's reign. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 02:55
  • And between those Americans who go to organizations that preach love and those who go to organization that preach hate and fear. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 03:16
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    @GeorgeChen I don't concern myself with the preaching. Only with the watching. And that's a bipartisan affair. I stand strongly behind my earlier remark. There are many totalitarians around lately who think of themselves as kind. – user4894 Oct 10 '14 at 06:43
  • @user4894 - I don't like being watched either. But we ARE being watched--that is a fact. The smart phone in your pocket is a voyeur spy. I just don't like the illusion that we still have privacy. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 06:55
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    Bury your head in the sand - that is the best you can do in 2014 for your privacy. – George Chen Oct 10 '14 at 07:17